What Lies Beneath
by Northlane
Summary: What is beneath the surface, hidden from view? In attaining ultimate power, has Kazuma given up something even more important? [Kazuma x Mimori]
1. Resurrecting the Light

**Foreword**: I guess I figured I wanted to write a piece for s-Cry-ed, you know? Anyway… On with the story.

"…" denotes speech.

'…' denotes thought.

**Disclaimer**: No. I don't own s-CRY-ed, and I highly doubt I ever will.

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**Resurrecting the Light**

"How come you're always staring out the window like that, Kazu-kun?" A little girl, perhaps only nine or ten, stopped in her place, and looked over at the person she viewed as a brother.

He looked over at her for a moment, and then turned his head back to the window. After a few moments of pointed silence, the man sitting in the window sill spoke to her, "I guess… I'm waiting for somebody, Kanami."

She set a basket down on the ground and took a step closer to him. "Oh… Well, who are you waiting for?"

Kazuma stared at Kanami gravely and sighed, "I'm not sure…" Over time, his body had seemed to heal, since he had stopped using his Alter as much. After he used it, he actually had enough time to let his body recuperate. Kanami hadn't noticed any problems with his arms or his eye.

"Then how do you know that you're waiting for somebody?" The little girl handed him a sandwich, which he accepted, and curiously waited for an answer.

The mahogany haired man chewed thoughtfully, and spoke between bites, "I guess… I used to be fine… but now I feel… like I'm waitin' for… somebody." He stopped chewing and sighed, "Maybe I'm just bein' stupid, but it seems like somebody's just missin'… I started feeling this way after that whole thing with Mujo… After we all went our separate ways."

"Kazu-kun… This isn't like you at all. You _never _mope around all day. Come on, get up! Get up!" Kanami grabbed a hold of him and began to pull on his arm, in a feeble attempt to get him outside.

The man shook his head a few times and ran his fingers through his hair as he stepped towards the door, "Alright already! I'm _going_! I'm _going_!"

"Now, Kazu-kun, I want you to go outside and do something. Take a walk or… I don't know! Just do _something _to keep you busy." There was a sense of pleading within her voice as the little girl shoved him out the door and locked it. "I'll see you at lunch."

"But I… Ergh… Fine, see you at lunch." Kazuma about-faced and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he strode down the dusty pathways, heading away from the tiny little cottage that he shared with Kanami.

Small clouds of dust hovered around his feet as he shuffled away from the house. 'I don't know… I'm just not sure who I could be missing… I'm not even sure if I can remember all their names…'

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"Umm… Let's see… It's this way, I think…" Mimori sighed as she rested her forehead on the steering wheel of her car. She finally glanced over at the map resting in the empty seat next to her. "There used to be a pathway here… Why…_Where _did it go?"

The woman continued to drive on, using the map as best she could to navigate her path. She coaxed the jeep up the sloping pathway, as the map dictated. Resting at the top of the hill, Mimori Kiryuu stifled a yawn and wiped at her eyes. 'I really should have gotten more sleep… Maybe leaving so early in the morning wasn't such a brilliant idea…'

Slipping out of the car, the woman raised her arms high over her body, and attempted to pull the sky down. Her clothes were somewhat ruffled in appearance, due to her lengthy trip from the city. She readjusted her blouse because it had begun to ride up, and she was in danger of revealing her stomach.

Mimori hated to show off her body much, despite the fact that she was in great shape, physically. She always wore long sleeves and pants, even in the face of unbearable heat. This habit stemmed from her father, because he had always frowned upon revealing clothes, unless she was going to a formal party. Then, the dress would be handpicked by her mother, who was more lenient with that sort of thing.

"It's already ten-thirty? Oh man… I've been cooped up in that car for about seven hours. Perhaps I should stretch out for a little bit longer… Who knows how long I'll be in that accursed jeep for?" Mimori leaned against her car and whisked the sweat away from her brow with a handkerchief.

What had once been a slight zephyr had become a steady breeze that purloined said handkerchief, carrying it farther and farther away from the girl.

On an impulse, Mimori Kiryuu dashed away from the jeep, reaching out for the elongated piece of cloth. Each stride took her from the jeep, until finally she grabbed hold of the linen cloth. "Now I have you. I guess it was just a little bit of bad luck that you flew all the way over he-"

A massive crunch made her reevaluate her position. "Or… It _could _have been _good luck_." Setting off at a sprint, Mimori headed off towards the jeep, carrying her precious cargo.

"Damn it! Oh crap! Er… maybe if I just leave, nobody'll know that it was me." She had heard that voice before. It was one of the voices that she could never forget, even if she were to forget even her own name.

It was Kazuma.

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He backed away from the totaled jeep, leaving the massive boulder lodged in the hood of the motor vehicle. "Er… it was the other guy with Alter powers. I swear!"

"Hey! You! Stay right there!" A voice called out to him from the other side of the jeep.

Turning, the young man began running away, straining his leg muscles as much as he possibly could. "Gotta go! See you later, lady! Have a nice life!"

"Kazuma, the Shell Bullet! Stop right there!" It was obviously a feminine voice, and, as far as the mahogany-haired, young man could tell, she could now see him.

"So it's a fight you want, eh! Well, I'm not one to dis_appoint!_" Sliding to a halt, Kazuma's arm began to become encased in an ochre and orange armor. Three flanged fins protruded from his shoulder as he quickly spun around in a complete circle, finally stopping as he faced the voice. "You'll be _sorry _you messed with Kazuma the _Shell Bullet!_"

As one of the fins disintegrated, propelling him forward at extreme speeds, he took the time to examine his opponent. After quickly evaluating her 'assets' he shifted his focus, and let his eyes roam over her body, making sure that she wasn't concealing any type of weapon. His golden irises drifted up to her face, and raven black hair.

"You… I know you… Mimori! What're you doing here! I thought you were supposed to be in the city, you know, as a doctor or something like that!" Using every ounce of will in his body, he managed to force his Alter to stop. Driving his fist into the ground between her legs, his armor faded away into nothingness, leaving only a slight tingling in his arm.

Kazuma looked up with a cheerful smile and a glint in his eyes. "Er… Sorry?"

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"Just look at the damage you've done to my car! I just bought this thing too! I'll never be able to deliver these medical supplies in time! Especially," she cleared her throat and jabbed an accusative finger towards the massive lance of rock protruding from the front of the jeep, "with _that _embedded in the engine."

"I already apologized for that, didn't I! What else do you want from me?" he demanded, as he rubbed at his aching arm. 'Damn… My arm's still hurting a little… I thought I was over this.'

"Kazuma! Kazuma!" Mimori cried, shaking him gently. "Are you alright? You seem distracted." Inside of her skull, she was instantly analyzing the situation with the cold logic of a doctor.

"Huh? Nah… I'm fine. My arm was just hurting a little bit…" Kazuma pulled his sleeve over his arm more, concealing it within folds of cloth. The young man turned, so that his right arm was behind him.

'He's hiding something.' Mimori stepped forward and grabbed the hidden arm. It was like trying to detain a bucking bull, but she somehow held tightly. "Stop fidgeting and let me see your arm! I _am _a doctor, you know." She slid his maroon sleeve up, and gasped audibly. "It's…"

"It's _fine_." He jerked his arm out of her grasp and covered it, hiding the massive lacerations adorning it. "It's just hurting a little bit…"

"Your arm looks like you've been punching knives!" Sadness was laced with concern as she gently reached out to him. "Please… _Please _let me see if I can do something for you."

Saying nothing, he extended his arm towards her, and allowed himself to be seated on a boulder nearby. "So… What're you doing this far out? Aren't you workin' in the city?"

Picking through some of the things in the jeep's trunk, Mimori finally pulled out an undamaged First Aid kit. "This'll do nicely… Oh, I heard that there wasn't a doctor out here, so I volunteered to do this. It got so stuffy in the city. It may not be very pretty out so far in the Lost Grounds, but it sure feels better. There's almost no air pollution at all. It just makes me feel a lot more relaxed." She sat down next to him and began to rummage through the tackle box of medical supplies.

The battle-hardened man could do nothing but wince as he felt a sharp pain dart through his arm. "Ow! What the hell are you tryin' to do to me!" The blood drained from his face and he cried out, "N-No! You keep that needle away from me!"

"Will you hold _still?_ This will hurt _more _if you're moving around!" As he continued to wriggle and writhe, Mimori spoke exasperatedly, "If I don't do it right, I might have to do it twice, or even three times! Now _hold_ _still_!"

Gritting his teeth in pain, Kazuma focused on counting the tiny pebbles lying about on the deserted road. The sting of the needle seemed to pierce into his very core, finally forcing him to clench his eyes shut as well, in some sort of feeble attempt to ignore the pain.

"There… You're all patched up… I think." The girl looked around his arm once more, making sure that she had closed up every gash. That was the most stitching she had ever done on one patient.

Kazuma, obviously, was about ready to fall down in pain. One thousand, nine hundred, seventy-eight stitches would make even the toughest of customers gasp in anguish. "What the hell did you do to my arm? It was fine the way it was!"

"No, it wasn't. It may hurt right now, but I promise you that you'll feel better once we can take the stitches out." The woman wiped some sweat away from her brow and grimaced at the totaled jeep.

Remaining silent for a while, the man finally stood up and examined the pincushion that was his arm, "You promised, so it better."

"I never break promises." Mimori sighed in defeat as she watched the hood of the vehicle completely fall off. "It's no good…" With her deep brown eyes, she assessed the situation as best as she could. 'I don't have anywhere to stay tonight… I guess I'll have to pray that nobody tries to rob me… or worse.' She visibly shuddered with the last thought.

Kazuma, with a large bag slung over his shoulder looked over at the doctor, saying, "What are you standing there for? Come on, hurry up."

Mimori's mind seemed to blank, and she stumbled over her words, "Wh-What do you mean?"

"I gotta pay you back, right? I don't like owin' anybody anything." Motioning vaguely to his arm, he grinned at her, "You can crash with me an' Kanami 'til you're ready to move on." He held out his good arm to the black haired woman.

Taking his hand to climb over a rock, Mimori and Kazuma quickly separated, opting, instead, to walk side by side. "Thank you… Kazuma. Now I really owe you one."

"I wouldn't say that. You patched me up and I'm lettin' you stay with me for a while. Don't that make us even?"

"You… don't remember, do you? Right after the thing with Mujo and the Mainland, you and Ryuho were fighting… Once you finally beat him, you helped me get him to the hospital." She bowed a little to show gratitude, "So I guess I still owe you one."

"Eh, that was a freebie. I couldn't let a lady like you have to deal with that moron all alone. 'Sides, I couldn't go back to Kanami in the shape I was in. She would've finished me off! Let's just call it even." Smiling sadly, Kazuma began to remember, 'I stayed with _you_… not Ryuho… As hard as I tried to get you to notice me, you just didn't seem to even care. You would always be polite, but distant…'

"Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm perfectly fine. Why'd you ask?" The man shrugged and exhaled, readjusting the bag slung over his shoulder, which was laden with most of the medical supplies from the woman's car. 'Probably askin' about the arm.'

"Your smile… I guess I'm not used to seeing you smile like that." The woman stopped and looked at the powerful Alter user.

Feeling a slight blush come up on his face, he turned away and kept walking. "Er… How would you know what my smile's like? Not like I do that a bunch."

Jogging lightly to catch up with him, Mimori blurted out, "Don't you remember your time in HOLY? I… we spent time together then. How could you forget that? You were smiling so much then…" She giggled as she remembered his table manners in the fanciest restaurant in the City.

"I had fun then, even though I didn't want to. You really seemed as out of place there as I was. Guess that's why you were stuck with me, huh? I gotta say though… I wouldn't have wanted to have anybody else hangin' with me. They were all too stiff. Least you knew how to relax a little." Kazuma reached out his hand and helped her over another big rock. He had a pensive look on his face, as though he was trying to drag his forgotten memories to the surface.

"Well, I certainly couldn't imagine you sitting peacefully with Ryuho, or another Alter user for that matter. You really like to get into fights, don't you?" Looking on the horizon, the doctor could see the tiny house that they were heading towards.

Completely ignoring her question, because it was so obvious, the fiery man continued to delve deeper and deeper into his memory. Smiling slyly at his companion, he chuckled and said, "If I remember right, you were rockin' that dress like it was nobody's business. Don't see too many girls lookin' that nice where I come from."

"K-Kazuma!" Blushing heavily, her eyes widened slightly. 'Was that some form of compliment? I… wasn't expecting him to remember anything…' Inwardly, she lamented the outfit she had worn that night, 'Why couldn't I have picked out something with sleeves!'

The dull and lifeless light shining from Kazuma had been replaced with a much more radiant luster, and the frown that had been a constant lately was long gone. There was a genuine smile on Kazuma's face. One that had not been seen in a long time.

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**Author's** **Notes**: Why did I do this fiction? I don't know… I guess I wanted to have a longer piece with this couple. I always felt like there was some onscreen chemistry between the two. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, there will be more on the way, but I'm not sure when I'll update. By the way, I had to use ghetto-lines because the Line tool in the document editor wasn't working... I wasn't too happy of a person when I figured that one out. I always use the Lines to separate the story from the random crap that nobody ever reads.


	2. The Blurring Line

**Foreword**: Thanks for reviewing everyone, really glad you did. I hope you've enjoyed my story thus far.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any characters, ideas or places appearing in the s-CRY-ed anime, however, I do own the original storyline to this story and also any original characters.

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**The Blurring Line**

He sat silently at the window once again, with a deep look of concentration plastered on his face. His golden irises were unfocused and distant, as he was looking inward instead of actually using his sight.

A strange ringing reverberated through his ears and he could hear the revving of an engine.

The golden bands instantaneously focused, and Kazuma's eyes darted out the window, making sure that there was nobody driving outside.

After a few moments of careful searching, he returned to his oddly introspective demeanor. 'Why…? Why can't I-'

A soft hand was gently placed on his shoulder and Mimori's feminine voice called out to him, "Um… Kazuma?"

Startled, he flinched, and pulled away from her. "Oh… What're you still doin' up? It's pretty late, you know." Settling back against the window, he allowed his stitched up arm to hang limply at his side. He felt a twinge of pain dart through his arm, and looked down to see the female doctor attentively examining the arm, despite the dim lighting of the moon.

"It looks like it's healing decently… Your body must have an incredible healing system! I only sewed this up a few days ago, and your arm is already looking better." She poked and prodded at the tender flesh curiously, as it trying to understand it more fully.

Blinking a few times to clear away some of the forming tears, he clenched his teeth. Each word was forced out from between the gritted pearly whites, "You _do _know that hurts, right?"

Quickly backing away, with an embarrassed look on her face, she bowed, asking for forgiveness, "I'm sorry! Terribly sorry about that."

Shrugging, Kazuma slung his injured arm around the girl's shoulders, "Nah, it's alright." He struggled to get up from his position, and used Mimori as a sort of crutch. "Sorry 'bout that… Didn't mean to invade your privacy or nothin', but I needed some help getting' up."

The raven haired doctor stood motionless, with a blush creeping up her face. "I… I…"

"Oh geez… I put my arm around you once and you go all rigid!" Kazuma chuckled at her and released himself from her, letting his arms dangle at his sides. "Come on, it's not like I'm makin' a move on you. I've never done anything like this before with you either."

'It was such a small thing that… I guess there are more important things to keep in mind than something like that…' She had a crestfallen look on her face, as though he had let her down in not remembering. "Um… _Actually_,Kazuma, you have… Don't you remember?"

A tumultuous light shone in his eyes, mirroring his confusion. "I… I can't remember…" Once again, a pensive look controlled Kazuma, as he stood there, deep in thought.

"It was right after you joined HOLY for a short time… Right in the lobby, you put your arm around me." Seeing that he was still trying to think and recall the memory, she shook her head and bit her lip, "Well, it was just a rather small incident. I don't blame you for forgetting…"

He placed his hand on her shoulder and stared straight into her eyes, "I'm sorry, Mimori… I… I used to have a perfect memory… but lately… I've been forgetting things. Can ya forgive me?" He gave a gentle squeeze to her shoulder, and sighed, "Maybe I'm just stressin' out, and forgettin' things."

"Perhaps all you need is a good night of rest. Why don't you go off to bed now, Kazuma?" Mimori smiled gently and chuckled, "That's a doctor's order."

Nodding, the man headed off towards his own room. He stopped right at the doorway and turned around, "So why were you up this late again?" He winked playfully and said, "Just to check up on me, right?"

The doctor was left standing all alone in the room, as Kazuma had retreated into his own quarters. Again, the same blush had begun to invade her face. 'Just what is he doing to me? He's an embarrassing person…'

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'She's been with us for a month… Such a strange person… It's blistering hot, but she's still wearin' long sleeves. She checks up on me each night, like I'm some kinda lab rat or somethin'. She doesn't seem like she's from around here… I don't think she's from the Lost Grounds.' Kazuma smiled broadly at Kanami as she proudly showed him some of the flowers she had picked.

"I hope Miss Mimori will like these! I made sure that I found some flowers that can be found on the Mainland too, just to remind her of home." Kanami quickly placed the radiant flowers into a tiny vase, which was set upon the table, in a feeble attempt to liven up the dull room.

Kazuma shook his head and his eyes narrowed as he focused on what the girl had said, "Wait… She's from the Mainland?"

"Of course, Kazu-kun! I'm positive she's told you at least twelve times since she got here!" The little girl wearing orange had her hands on her hips, looking disappointed. "Is there something wrong with you, Kazu-kun? I know they're just minor details but still, it makes a difference!"

He leaned against the wall and held onto his still-stitched arm. "Sorry, sorry… It just slipped my mind, I guess. Heh, you know me. I think about the details later."

Though she held her tongue, Kanami still looked as though she wanted to say something to him. 'He's… been forgetting things lately… He's just denying it to himself. Oh, Kazu-kun, what's _wrong_ with you?'

"Huh… Nice picture. So who is this guy?" Kazuma picked up the lone photograph and carefully studied it, noting the expensive frame around it. The large, goofy smile on the man's face in the picture also brought Kazuma to a grin. "This smilin' moron looks pretty happy in this picture."

The shatter of glass smashing against the hard ground seemed to echo within the little room. The whole atmosphere was like a black hole, devoid of everything.

Kanami slumped to her knees and hid her face as tears ushered forth from her eyes. The glass lie around her like a sea of razors, as her tears dripped down onto the shards.

"K-Kanami! What's wrong with you!"

His only response was a brokenly sobbed word, as the girl repeated it like a repeating record, "K… Kimi… Kimishima…"

Kazuma's eyebrows rose in surprise as he gasped, "_Who_?"

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Rage flashed in the golden irises as Kazuma continued to pound the tree into submission with naught but his bare fists. 'I'm like a virus! I feel stupid and contagious! All this mopin' I've been doing lately… It looks like I've passed it to Kanami.'

"Who the hell is Kimi_shima!_" he roared as his fist passed completely through the solid trunk of the tree. His knuckles were bleeding, and his arm was scratched up. Luckily, he had enough sense to only use his left arm, instead of risking permanent damage to his right. Bracing his leg on the tree, he ripped his bloody appendage out of the trunk, dislodging bark along with it.

He sat down at the base of the object of his assault, furiously fuming at himself for making Kanami cry. He didn't know what he had done in noting the picture. Was it so wrong? Deep within him, he could feel a numbingly cold feeling grip his heart as he thought about the man in the photo. 'Who was that guy? Why do I feel… feel like somethin' bad happened?'

Sheer white cloth wrapped around Kazuma's fingers, and Mimori sat down next to him. "Do I need to follow you around just to make sure you aren't hurting yourself?"

"What do you care for? I'm just a lazy, irresponsible, brute of an Inner… Why don't you just go back and care for… uh… Ryu… _damn!_ Ryuho! Why don't you go back and follow _him _around?" Kazuma's eyes were steeped in rage, as he struggled to cling onto the memories he had. He was stuck in a whirlwind of confusion. Everything was starting to fade away.

She put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, trying to reassure him. "Ryuho and I… Do you want to know the _real_ reason I'm here? I… know it's because I'm a doctor, and I can help people, but there's another reason."

He shrugged her hand off and nursed his arms in his lap, still visibly angry, "Probably wanted to get away from that frosty _bastard_, if I had to venture a guess."

"No, Kazuma… I came here because I wanted to see _you_ again. Ryuho and I may not be on the best terms lately, but I _do _like to see my friends." She paused, looking straight into his eyes, and facing the turmoil within them. "You're one of them. I really lo- er, like you. There… We've always been able to speak honestly with one another, right?"

He averted his eyes in shame, "Yeah, whatever." A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed until he finally spoke again, "I'm sorry… I'm just so confused lately… I don't know what's wrong with me. I keep forgetting things I should know, but… I can't understand _why_. I'm just so _pissed off_ right now."

The raven haired woman closed her arms around Kazuma, encircling him in a hug.

Both of their minds were racing at light speed, trying to comprehend just what was happening. The human contact just seemed to be doing the powerful Alter some good.

"My… mother said that a hug can always help… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be invasive." She let go of him and tried to sit back in her former position.

His arms were still tightly wrapped around her, and his face was buried into the woman's shoulder. Every single emotion that he had been repressing had broken through its dam and was flowing. Tears seeped through his closed eyelids, soaking Mimori's shirt.

Silently, she accepted the burden he was placing on her. Cradling him in her arms, Mimori promised to herself, as a woman, doctor, and more importantly, a human being, that she would stay with Kazuma, until he was healed, internally and externally.

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The strongest Alter user in the world had been reduced to a whining, sniveling wimp. He lay curled up in his bed, under the covers, like a child trying to escape from the Boogeyman.

It had been about a month since Mimori had begun spending all of her time with him, attempting to help him with anything she possibly could, in both physical and mental therapy.

The rain had been pouring down ceaselessly for a whole week, and the weather had begun to affect everyone's mood. While the two girls would always stay inside, and do various things, Kazuma was in the rain. He would just stand there, gazing up into the sky.

As a peal of thunder clashed in the sky, Kazuma cringed and seemed to withdraw further under his sheets. Two figures flashed into his mind, one was dressed in a black suit, with his silvery hair tied back tightly, while the other, hulking figure was completely black, with only a few spots on his body that were not.

These two figures scared Kazuma to the point of insanity.

He had no idea who either of the people were, but he could feel that they were powerful, and that he truly had a reason to be scared.

He retracted further when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Kazuma… Are you feeling better today? I told you that you were going to get sick if you stayed out in the rain…" Mimori slowly drew the blanket off of his face, so that she could check on him more adequately.

He was blankly staring at her, but there was absolutely no sign that he had a cold, as Mimori had said he would. The blanket fully slipped off of the bed, leaving Kazuma only clad in a pair of pants, and, obviously, his omnipresent glove.

"Kazuma… You're not-" the girl was cut off by a terrible crash, and the sick sigh of straining timbers, in the moments before they gave in to the pressure.

A fire lit within the recently depressed man, and he rocketed out of bed, and his arm was encased within his gauntlet-like Shell Bullet.

As the massive tree came crashing through the roof, he shot forward and knocked it back away from the house.

Within seconds, Kazuma's Alter began to dissolve, leaving a freshly bleeding and lacerated arm in its wake. He collapsed to his knees, as his arm spasmed and throbbed in pain. The stitches had been obliterated, and each gash was freshly opened, staining the room with the lingering scent of the sickly sweet blood.

Immediately, Mimori ran to his side, kneeling with him, despite the whole in the roof drenching them both in rain. "Kazuma! Kazuma!" she cried, as if desperately hoping that he was perfectly fine, when she _knew _he wasn't.

"I am… My name is Kazuma?"

"Y-Yes, of course it is!" She was baffled, but it finally dawned on her… His memory was damaged. "Do you know who I am? Try to remember, Kazuma!"

Concentrating as hard as he could, the Alter user focused on remembering the woman that had grown close to him in the last two months. In labored speech, he finally managed to spit out a few words, "You are… Uh… Mim… Mimor…" He collapsed completely, lapsing into unconsciousness.

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**Author's Notes**: Okay, I really hope you liked it this time. I wasn't expecting to update so quickly, you know? Yes. I have a logical explanation to WHY Kazuma's memory is being damaged. You'll have to wait for that one. I hope it was sufficient.

**Random Bonus**: Who can find the musical reference in this story? It's something that Kazuma says. It's close to a line in a VERY well known American song from the '90s…


	3. Black Star

**Foreword**: Yes, I'll be explaining everything in this chapter. It may seem a little confusing, because it's a pretty intricate. Hope you enjoy this.

**Disclaimer**: Leave me alone. I'm poor, and can't pay for the rights to such a thing… Also, I don't own the song or title _Black Star_, I'm only borrowing it.

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**Black Star**

"How could you bring a man like him _here_? I can't believe you! He's dangerous enough as it is, and yet you say you've been _staying with him!_"

There was a voice shouting. He didn't know who was speaking, but he had a sense that it was a familiar voice. All he could see was black.

"He's not dangerous! You just don't know him the way that I do! He really needs help!"

Mimori. The single word popped into his head, although he could only associate it with the voice. Try as he may, he couldn't summon up an image of the owner of the voice.

His golden eyes opened slowly, as if his eyelids were trying to bench press a building. Struggling and straining, they were finally opened. The room was engulfed in darkness, with only a dim light, and the faint glow of the monitor next to his bed. A beeping noise constantly rang out in a steady, fixed rate, as the green line monitored his heart.

Two figures stood just outside his door, in a heated argument. Both seemed to only be silhouettes, moving and speaking angrily. The door started to open, and the eerie creaking rang through the room, accompanied by angry and harsh whispers.

Regaining his sense, the man could feel his arms bound to the sides of his bed. The clink of chains echoed as he realized that he was inadvertently pulling at them. At first, they were gentle tugs, as though he was testing them. Seconds later, after a sense of captivity had been instilled in him, the man began thrashing around, trying to rip out of his bindings.

With a rumbling growl, the man's golden eyes opened wider and the bedrails groaned with tension. With one final and desperate yank, he tore off his bindings, and hopped to his feet. Pain ricocheted through his arms as he felt dampness sliding from them. He looked down at his forearms in confusion, noting the torn stitching, and red liquid. Taking a few weary steps towards the door, he was confronted by another man.

"Kazuma…" he hissed, "What are you doing here!" His dark and hostile attitude was putting Kazuma on edge, although he didn't know why.

"Kazuma?" Taking a look around, the Shell Bullet shrugged and said, "If I see 'im I'll let you know." With each second, more and more blood was cascading onto the floor, as though it were the body's equivalent of Niagara Falls.

The teal haired man grabbed Kazuma by the collar of his hospital gown, and screamed in his face, "Don't act any stupider than you already are!" He roughly shook the patient, sending blood all over the room.

Mimori covered her face as she had blood flung onto her due to the shaking of her hemorrhaging patient, albeit accidentally. With one arm on Ryuho's shoulder, she tried to pull him away from Kazuma, her patient. "Stop! Ryuho, stop it right now!"

Taking hold of Ryuho's arms, Kazuma flung the new Commander of HOLY off of him, and took no more heed of him. "M… Mimori? Mimori, are you alright?" He reached out and wiped the blood away from her face.

"I… Of course I am, Kazuma. It was just a little bit of blood." She smoothed out her black hair and clothes, then sat Kazuma down, "Why do you keep ripping open your stitches! Kazuma, try to keep them in this time." Mimori had begun staunching the blood flow from his arms, so that he wouldn't faint from blood loss.

Ryuho picked himself up off of the ground and stalked out the door, obviously pissed that Kazuma was there, and even more so that he had been thrown aside like nothing. He took extra care to slam the door behind him.

"I… I need to ask you some things." Kazuma was looking straight at Mimori, and he continued, "Everyone is calling me Kazuma. Is that my name?"

While maintaining a steady pressure on his wounds, she made eye contact, and began to explain, "Yes. You're suffering from extreme memory loss. That man who was just in here is Ryuho Tairen. You two always get into fights." Her eyes were red, and she looked as if she hadn't gotten any sleep in days.

They lapsed into silence for a few minutes, which seemed to be as long as years.

As always, Kazuma, being the most tactful person on the planet, blurted out, "You look horrible."

"Well, _excuse me_ for trying to dress nicely!" Mimori frowned in disappointment, and glared at the man through her clear brown eyes.

Kazuma mentally kicked himself in the ass for that one, and tried again, "No! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that! I think you're lookin' nice in your clothes and stuff…" He trailed off, blushing heavily as what he had said set in. Shaking his head, he collected his thoughts and he continued, "I just meant that you look like you could use some sleep! You know, take care of yourself instead of worryin' about me."

"Kazuma, look out the window."

"Huh?" he tilted his head, so that he could look at the window, but frowned when he saw the shades pulled down over it. A sudden jolt of pain shot through his body as Dr. Kiryuu began to stitch up his arm for the third time. "That wasn't cool, Doc. Can't you do something _besides _sewing it up?"

"Not if you want it done right. Anything else could infect the cuts easier, and if it's not stitched up, and we wrap something around it, the wrap would stick to your cuts. Taking that off wouldn't be fun for you. Besides, there are gaping slashes in your skin. They need to close up together, or else you'll have so much scar tissue on your arm that you'll be lucky to be able to use it a tenth as well as you can normally." A small smile slowly crept onto her face as she focused on the needle. Pausing, she looked up at Kazuma and winked, "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."

"Heh, good to know."

Each stitch that went into his arm made Kazuma cringe and wince in pain. The arm was already sensitive enough as it is, but a needle continuously piercing the skin was just salt in the wounds.

"One more thing…" He was still fighting himself, trying to decide if he should ask her his question. Was there something between the two of them that he had forgotten about? "I can't remember anything about who I was… Why can I remember _your_ name?"

Finishing up, Mimori sighed and shrugged, "I don't know why. In the last two months, you and I have been close friends, so maybe that's why…" She stood up and went over to the sink, where she started washing her hands.

"Oh thank God… I thought there mighta been something between us. That woulda sucked, wouldn't it?"

Stiffening, she clenched her teeth. 'Why… Why am I angry?' She definitely felt something inside of her constrict. "And why… would that be?" Her hands were balled into fists in the sink.

"I'd feel like a complete ass if I couldn't remember something like that, and could only remember your name, you know?" He shrugged and laid back down on his bed, "Maybe it's only me, but I just… I can't stand to let people down… Just like… like…"

Mimori wasn't paying attention to what he said afterwards, because she was so focused on what he had said before laying down. 'He… He really cares for me… I guess that's the way he feels about all his friends.'

Kazuma closed his eyes, and tried to sleep amidst the throbbing pain of his arms. Slowly but surely, the pain began to ebb and he felt himself drift off into a fitful sleep.

Mimori smiled gently, and slipped something onto his hand. His most prized possession, his glove, was finally returned to its rightful place. This was the only thing that he had refused to remove during their date, back in the days before Mujo. This tiny, insignificant object must hold some sort of importance for him.

She gently placed her hand against his cheek and smiled. "Try not to rip open those stitches again… Sleep well, Kazuma."

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In the dimly lit room, Mimori Kiryuu sat in front of a computer screen, scanning the contents. Her glasses glinted with the light from the computer, as she continued to pour over the information ceaselessly.

She pulled off her glasses and looked into the microscope in off to her left. "I don't… The problem must not be with his blood…"

She quickly took a sip of her coffee, and almost died of a heart attack when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Didn't I tell you to get some sleep? Come on, Doc." Kazuma slowly and painfully sat down into a chair next to her, as he had almost no function in his arms. Each breath seemed to be airy, as though he was struggling to breathe.

"I've had a solid nine hour block of sleep. _You_ on the other hand, need to rest, and recuperate. Besides, you look completely worn out, and you're breathing like you ran a marathon." She reclined in her chair and flipped through some papers, hoping to find some sort of clue on the reason that Kazuma was ill.

Spinning around in the swiveling chair like a frenzied child, Kazuma examined a paper that he had found in the hallway, with his name labeled on it in massive letters, along with the word "CONFIDENTIAL".

"Lym… Lym-fo-site? The hell?"

"It's said lymphocyte, and why are you reading my papers?" She turned to him and set down her enormous stack of papers.

"Well, it _did _have my name on it." His faced was screwed up, as though he was trying to decipher an ancient text from a dead language. "Why're these two numbers so big?" He slid the paper over to her, and watched as Mimori's face donned a stunned expression. 'Well… She looks pretty cute when she's confused as hell.'

She quickly paled as she read the information. 'The white count and lymphocyte count is off the charts… it has to be an infection.' "Kazuma, come here, right now."

He obeyed, and stood in front of the woman, still seeming to gasp for breath. He was back into his old clothes, though Mimori wasn't sure how that was possible, because she had given the nurse specific orders not to give them back.

"Take off your shirt, please."

"Whoa," he said with a chuckle, "Movin' a little quick aren't you, Doc? Bet you were just _dying _to get a look." He gently pulled off his shirt, careful not to rip his sewn up arms.

"Be quiet, please. This is really important, Kazuma. I need you to take deep breaths, and stand still. This might be a little…" she reached towards him and began poking, prodding, and pressing at his chest, "uncomfortable…"

With each breath, she felt something moving under the surface of his skin. It was faint, but she could tell that there was something there. It seemed to be wedged between the left lung and heart. She continued to agitate the one spot, hoping to be able to get a better understanding of what it is.

Pulling her hair to the side, Mimori pressed her ear against his muscled chest, making sure that his heartbeat was undisturbed. "Good… Your heart is in good shape."

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"Remind me _once_ more why I'm on this damn thing!" Kazuma stood expectantly on the treadmill, with countless wires all connected to him. He had a devious grin on his face, and locked eyes with Mimori.

Sighing, the doctor said, "Because I said I'd take you to dinner if you promised to do this…"

"Heh, just making sure," said the mahogany-haired man, as he began to run on the treadmill.

'His lymphocyte and white count are way up there… They seem to be produced at over five times the normal rate. They must be fighting something in the body… If I'm right, it's that lump in his chest.' Mimori scribbled down a few notes on her clipboard, and resumed her thoughts, 'Maybe… I should biopsy the material, and determine what it is. First, we'd need an MRI, so we can have a better understanding of what we're dealing with here…' She was snapped out of her trance-like state of though by the sounds of furious coughing and groaning.

Kazuma was prostrate on the ground, coughing up blood. His normally heavy breathing had become even worse, and it seemed as though he was asphyxiating. Clawing at his chest, the Alter user writhed in pain on the ground, with his hands tearing at what looked faintly like a black star on his skin.

She was over him in an instant, frantically running tests and trying to save his life at the same time. Her own heart stopped as she stared into his dull and lifeless, golden eyes, laced with pain.

She had finally stopped the pain and coughing up blood, and she had a definite reason to suspect that Kazuma had some sort of _thing _inside of him.

Helping him onto a stretcher, she told the nurses to take him to Examination Room 23, and set up him up on an MRI.

As he left the room with an anguished look on his face, Mimori glanced at the computer screen. His lymphocyte and white blood cell counts were even higher than before. "Damn it… His immune system has been attacking that foreign substance, but it's been steadily destroying his actual tissue as well… How could I be so stupid? The lymphocytes were trying to stop all the tissues that have become connected to it from functioning! Son of a…"

She left the sentence unfinished as she stormed out the door to check on her patient, and friend.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

As the MRI was firing up, Kazuma felt a slight pressure on his chest. As he heard the whir of the machine, he glanced over to see Mimori, with a scared look on her face, and sadness in her eyes. 'She's really lookin' out for me, isn't she?'

"Kazuma, this should be a painless test, but if you have any sort of tattoos, there's a risk that they'll be ripped off of your body, which _will_ be painful." Mimori's voice was almost dripping with concern, just as there was a tear in her eyes. 'I've caused him so much pain today…'

"Ain't got a tattoo." He closed his eyes as the machine continued to work.

Something was wrong.

The pressure in his chest began to build and build. The black star on his chest was becoming more prominent, and was turning into an external lump. Even more blood splashed on the insides of the machine as what seemed to be a metal fragment pierced through his skin.

Letting out grunts and shouts of pain, Kazuma was lifted into the air a few inches, because of the magnetic pull on this object, which was generated by the test.

One final sharp pain burst through his body, and Kazuma saw black.

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**Author's Notes**: Sorry for the short chapter, but hey… I really wanted to end on THAT particular note. I hope I kinda left you in suspense or something… yeah, that's it, suspense.

**Random Bonus**: Does anybody know who wrote the song _Black Star_? I'll give you a hint: he's got a really funny looking name. It starts with a 'Y' of all things. He's a shredder… always rated in the top three in the world. That should be more than enough to go off of.

**Last Week's Answer**: Smells Like Teen Spirit. Kazuma said 'I feel stupid and contagious' which is a line in the song's refrain I didn't lie when I said that it was a prominent song of the '90s, seeing as how it's considered as the Anthem of the '90s.


	4. Rough Cut

**Foreword**: Crap. It took me forever to write this, because I've been working on my actual book. I'm hoping to get it out before the end of this school year. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer**: Well… In case you are picky, I'll say it again. I don't own s-CRY-ed and I don't own any of the characters. Any original stuff, however, I _do_ own.

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**Rough Cut**

"We need to biopsy it. Now that the lump has sunk back into his body, we have no way of examining the material. We _have _to biopsy it." Mimori looked down at the cleansed body of Kazuma the Shell Bullet. He seemed to be paler in complexion than usual, and his mahogany hair hung limp and dull, coated in a fine film of grease, since it hadn't been washed in a few days.

Hooked up to a respirator, and an IV needle, Kazuma was receiving his nourishment in liquid form as it slowly pushed its way into the man's bloodstream. His chest heaved up and down, still making it seem as though he was struggling to breath, even though he was hooked up to a respirator. The man's eyes were completely shut, hiding the precious, golden irises that he had. Kazuma's mouth was semi-open, and the tube down his throat coupled with the oxygen mask on his face gave the Alter User a frail appearance.

"Er…" The doctor readjusted her glasses and shifted position, tearing her eyes away from her friend. She felt a pang of sadness sting her heart as she thought of how he would react to being so helpless. She coughed and continued speaking to the congregation of other doctors gathered around her. "Since he's still in a comatose state, I think it's safe to simply do the biopsy procedure here. It would be less of a hassle to sterilize this room than it would be to completely move the patient in the state he's in."

The eerie suction of the respirator rang out in the now silent room, greedily sucking in oxygen, and releasing carbon-dioxide into the atmosphere. Kazuma's whole body heaved as air was pumped into his body, and was subsequently extracted. He was limp and unmoving, as though he had always been that way and always would be.

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The large probe glinted maliciously in the bright, fluorescent lights. The pointed end, specifically designed for tearing samples from human flesh, seemed to be anxiously waiting for its turn to be used.

Unflinching, and undaunted, Kazuma remained completely still. The fact that he was in a medically induced coma definitely helped, for the man had a terrible phobia of needles and syringes.

Mimori stood with her arms folded, carefully watching Kazuma for some sort of sign of movement, despite the fact that she _knew _there wouldn't be any. She sighed, admonishing herself for being naïve. 'Of course he's not going to move. He's in a _coma_, even though it's medically induced.' She was alone in the room, because the other doctors all had filled schedules, and couldn't take the time out to bother with Kazuma.

Placing her hands on the probe, she deftly placed it over the blackened flesh, which looked as though it was bruised. Cool steel gently pressed against warm flesh, and slowly began to pierce through. Blood calmly bubbled to the surface, covering the tanned skin of Kazuma in its scarlet residue.

Since, according to their tests, the foreign substance was just under the skin, and right above the muscle, it would be easy to extract a sample of the matter. The only problem was all of the blood. Since Kazuma had been frequently been losing massive quantities of blood in a very short period, Mimori was unsure how much longer his body could take that kind of abuse.

The pointed probe tore into the center of the metallic, yet oddly fleshy lump within Kazuma. The bespectacled doctor clicked a button on the side of the syringe-esque apparatus, and listened as the sickening squelch of the suction made Mimori cringe as she watched the specimen slip through a tube and be spat out onto a Petri dish. 'That noise gets me every time… Now, let's take a look at the results of the biopsy.'

Slipping the glasses up, and resting them on her forehead, she glanced through the microscope, trying to examine the sample. As her eyes darted back and forth, she suddenly lost all view of the chunk of material. Pulling away from the microscope, she was barely in time to see that a green mist had begun to dissipate from where the tiny piece of black flesh had been in the dish.

"Oh my!" she vocalized, quickly jotting things down on a pad of paper. "I have to tell Kazuma about this…"

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Everything slowly came into focus. He could see her deep brown eyes staring down at him in concern. His voice was hoarse and raspy as he spoke up to the woman, "What the hell? I feel like I got hit by a train then stabbed by a damn chopstick."

"That's probably-" As she realized what he said, she did a double take, "Wait… What?" Mimori was utterly confused as to the random comment made by her friend. Of all the things to choose… "Why a chopstick?"

"Chopsticks are blunt! They hurt like a bitch when you get nailed by one." He said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The pain in his body didn't even seem to be affecting him one bit, although his speech was a little muffled by the oxygen mask he had placed over his face. Reaching up carefully, he yanked it off with a slight grin, "Damn thing was startin' to bug me." Starting in a trickle, it slowly grew into a flood, as his laughter rang out in the room. Not even the piercing pain ravaging his body would hold it in.

After a few moments of indulging, and even joining in on Kazuma's infectious chuckling, the doctor finally placed her hand on his chest, and calmly, yet firmly said, "Stop. That's enough, Kazuma. I have… news for you… You should hear this."

"Yeah, yeah… Okay, I'm done laughin'." He repositioned himself with his left arm, still conscious of his stitches in the other one. He sat up against the back of the hospital bed, and tried to keep a straight face.

He failed.

Every time he thought he could keep his composure, a large smile cracked on his face, and he found himself grinning stupidly at Mimori.

His constant smirking was starting to get on her nerves, and she folded her arms in a huff, and scowled at him. "Will you stop that! I'm trying to tell you something important! What's got you smiling all of the sudden?"

"I have no idea. It's just happening…" He couldn't repress the grin coming to his face, and he simply said, "Just seeing you makes me want to smile. I don't know anything about you, except that your name is Mimori Kiryuu, and that you're a doctor, but I just can't help it. It's like one of those crazy impulses, you know?"

"Kazuma… I'm going to have to ask you something very hard… It shouldn't be taken lightly… and it's _not _something to smile about." She wearily slid down into the chair next to Kazuma, and readjusted her clothing, along with her long, white, lab coat, making sure that she was completely covered. It was a completely unconscious move, but it happened nonetheless. She had just formed a habit over the years of always being overdressed, and had never been able to shake it.

"What? Cold or something?" He still had a massive grin plastered on his face. Mimori had never seen him like this. He usually never smiled, more or less grinning so broadly. He was just simply grinning moronically, with a gleam in his eyes. All the layers of his troubled past had been stripped away. Maybe it was for the better…

"N-No! I just… well… Er- Never mind that," folding her arms across her chest, she sulked, and attempted to portray the seriousness of the situation. "Look! Just listen, will you? I… I need to have your consent for this… I want to perform a surgery on you. It's go-"

"Another one! Jesus! By the time you guys are done with me, my entire body'll be a scar!" The man lapsed into silence, and the smile was replaced by a grave and thoughtful look. He sat still, his labored and heavy breathing hitting like a drum in the otherwise silent room. "Gimme one sec… I gotta thing about this whole thing… this screwed up situation I'm stuck in… I gotta think about me… and even _you_. Do I trust you enough to put me under the knife again?"

Mimori simply put an arm around him, and slowly it developed into a hug. "You can trust me, Kazuma… I will make sure that you come out of this okay. Just… You just have to trust me on this one." She was completely baffled at her own actions. As a doctor, she shouldn't have done something like that. There were countless things that could have gone wrong, and each could have been potentially fatal. Mimori didn't know _why _she had felt such a strong compulsion to simply hug Kazuma, but nonetheless, it happened.

His face was pressed against her shoulder, and he held onto her tightly as he sobbed into her shoulder, "I'm just… I'm actually kinda scared. I'm in some place I don't even know, surrounded by people I don't know, and I can't remember anything! I only know your name… I don't know… I'm just… It's all too much for me."

'I've never seen him like this… He's a wreck… complete and total wreck. What can I do? What can I do…?' Mimori frowned and simply stood still, keeping the amnesiatic man within her embrace. She could feel something deep within her. It was almost a need to keep him close… to keep him safe. Something about him had just made her take an instant affinity to him. As a doctor, Mimori was good at rationalizing her feelings, even if she knew that deep down, she was only deluding herself.

"Kazuma… Let's just… talk. So you can get to know me better… I understand that it'll be somewhat uncomfortable, but I really think that you should get to know me a little bit better. We were…" Mimori paused and a blush began to creep up her cheeks as she said, "… close."

He wiped away his tears and sat back once again. He could see the sense in what she was saying. After all… if she was the only name he could remember, she _must _have been important.

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Ryuho watched in disgust as Mimori held Kazuma in her arms. He was fuming and his normally cold façade had finally shown some emotion. By simply looking at him, a person could tell that he was livid. His fist was clenching and unclenching as he stared through the one-way glass into the patient ward. He stalked away, feeling repulsed at the sight of Mimori with Kazuma. "Damn… Kazuma… I won't let him touch Mimori again! He'll regret it… I don't buy any of that amnesia crap… He's up to something."

The new commander of HOLY plopped into his chair in his office, brooding. He propped his forehead up on his palm, staring at his desk with ice cold rage. "I want him out… I want him to just leave. He should be back where ever losers like him live… Why is he a constant plague in my life! Just when I thought I could finally settle down… perhaps with… but _he _has to show up!"

"I absolutely forbid it. Why is such a dangerous man allowed to simply come here? He, as shown in the past, obviously has no regard for other people… I could lock him up… I could lock him up, and throw away the key…" The teal haired man seemed to repeat the same phrase over and over again, like a maniac. A devious plan was formulating within his mind.

It was easily shot down. "Damn… He's too strong to simply put into prison, like the rest of the rabble. But what if I could… What if I could just get him to leave, and Mimori to stay? That would work… It would work very well…"

He sat, slouched in his chair with his hands folded in front of his face, as he sported a cunning and impudent grin. "Yes… I must carefully bait my trap, because I only have one chance to get it right."

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"So… I'm some powerful badass or somethin'?"

"Er… If that's how you want to put it, then yes. You are even stronger than Ryuho. You remember, the teal haired man from earlier." Mimori was quickly seeing the old Kazuma manifest himself within his body, even though he had less of an arrogant attitude.

"Heh, I was wonderin' what had his shorts in a bunch." Shrugging, Kazuma grinned, apparently pleased with himself. "Figures that an ass whoopin' would do it."

Mimori seemed to space out and she arbitrarily said, "I wonder how Kanami is doing… She seemed upset over the whole ordeal when we left. It must have really scared her. I hope she's been doing fine with the neighbors."

"Kanami? You mean that little girl you were talkin' about? You said somethin' like you an' me livin' with her, right?" Kazuma was lying back in the hospital bed, propped up by a few pillows, so that he could see Mimori. Even though he had no idea who this 'Kanami' was, he could still feel an innate concern for her safety. 'Just who was she to me?'

Mimori stood up and checked all of the readings on the myriad of machines that were hooked up to him. "Yes… Kanami is like a little sister to you. You've been looking out for her for a few years." She sighed in relief as everything checked out as normal, and she made sure that the IV was still in his arm. Noting that his breathing was still ragged and labored, she sat back down.

He sat quiet and still for a few moments, just thinking about the little girl and what he should do. "Just… I don't want to see her. I don't want to let her down by not rememberin' anything… It's best if she just stays away for a little bit." Again, their conversation lapsed into silence, and Kazuma closed his eyes, breathing as deeply as he could. The breath came back out all at once, like an explosion.

"Mimori… Go ahead…"

She looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

"Cut this thing out of me."

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**Author's Notes**: Took a while to get this out, but that's because I've been working on other projects. Sorry guys. I'll update, albeit it will be loads slower.

**Random Bonus**:God… I love doing annoying stuff like this. Anyway… The name of this chapter is Rough Cut, which is an obvious reference to a band called Rough Cutt. Now, who was the guitarist for Rough Cutt, and what band is he with now?

**Double Bonus**:"Gimme one sec… I gotta thing about this whole thing… this screwed up situation I'm stuck in… I gotta think about me… and even _you_." I modified that line from the refrain in a song called "_One Sec_". I doubt anybody'll get this, but who made that song? They're not mainstream and not even Google will help you. I'll be sincerely impressed if anybody gets this one.

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: Yngwie Malmsteen wrote and performed the song _Black Star_. It's an excellent piece of music, so if you should happen upon it, definitely check it out.


	5. Budding Flower

**Foreword**: Here you go. I updated much quicker I hope. I didn't wanna be slow again, but I'm trying to keep up with about 4 or 5 different stories. There you have it... It's a little shorter, but it ALSO has a lot more significance, in my mind. And I wanted to end right where I did.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own s-CRY-ed, or anything related to it, yadda yadda yadda. Who reads these anyway?

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**Budding Flower**

Mimori adroitly sew Kazuma's chest up, as she had just finished removing the black material from his body. She quickly wiped away the blood, and gently patted his chest. "It's all going to be alright… I took care of you."

After setting him in order, she sat down next to him and buried her face into her hands. "Kazuma… I wonder… I wonder exactly what you've done to me." With a tiny smile peeking out through her hands, she said, "I've been changing… perhaps for the best. You're… I've grown fond of you."

There was no response… How could there have been? Kazuma's limp body lie on the operating table with a massive slash on his chest, held together by a single thread. The steady beeping of the machines next to Kazuma gave the doctor reassurance that he was still in the realm of the living.

Awkwardly, the woman stood up from her chair and seemed to sway with indecisiveness. Gingerly, she placed her hand on Kazuma's cheek, and lowered her face towards him. She planted a light kiss on his forehead, and walked out of the room. "I'll check up on you later, Kazuma."

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You know that feeling you get after you've been choked, and you can finally breathe? Kazuma breathed in deeply as he lie perfectly still in his hospital bed. He could feel soreness across his chest, but, instead of sitting up to look, he only closed his eyes. "Who threw me in a goddamn blender?"

He felt hands moving their way across his body, invading what personal space he had. He was instantly on edge, making sure that there was no danger. Though he tensed up for a moment, he relaxed very quickly. He knew those hands… those soft, delicate, yet skillful hands. They were Mimori's.

"Good. I was just about to tell you to stay calm." The doctor's hands poked and prodded all over his chest and arm, carefully examining Kazuma's sewn up wounds. "Your arm is healing quite nicely… As a matter of fact, it's healing at a quicker rate than normal people, or even other Alter users! This is… It's amazing!"

Kazuma frowned and turned his head towards his arm to look at it. He was completely confused, which would logically lead to frustration. You could see it in his eyes. "Well, I ain't feelin' on top of my game. I feel like I'm a weakling… I can't do anythin' at all. I can't take care of myself or even keep myself cleaned… This is so ridiculous! I'm like a damn weight around your neck, because _you're _the one that's forced to deal with me."

"Don't worry about it, Kazuma… Come on, we both know you're not weak. Your body's been through more punishment in the last week than most people endure in a lifetime. After you get a little bit of rest, you'll be as free as a bird!" Mimori smiled down at him caringly, and sat down, after making sure that his body was healing well. "I'm not forced to 'deal with you'… I'm caring for you because we're close friends."

"Yeah… I guess so…" Kazuma felt cool metal slide up against his arm, and felt a gentle tug, and something giving way. He looked down at his arm once again, and saw that Mimori was cutting the stitches off from his arms. "What're you-"

The doctor cut him off with a reassuring smile. "They can come off now. You should be able to move your arm fully again. Go ahead. Try it out. You don't have to be as careful anymore. It's completely sealed up."

He lifted his arm up and flexed his whole arm, and began to wave it around, delighted that he could do so. Now he could actually take care of himself somewhat. Bending his elbow, he brought it closer to his face, observing the cross-stitched pattern scarred into his arm. Kazuma's eyes rested dourly on the marks. Balling his hand into a fist, he listened as his knuckles and wrist cracked, feeling the tension within them be released.

Determination within his eyes glimmered and sparked up. He swung his legs out of bed and walked a few steps on shaky legs over to Mimori, and sat down next to her. "Uh… Where are the showers? I'm feelin' pretty grimy, so do you think it'd be alright to take a shower or somethin'?."

Taken aback by his journey from the hospital bed, she stammered, "W-Well… We don't exactly have… um, public showering…" She blinked a few times making sure that he was really next to her, and thought to herself, 'He… He shouldn't be moving. After such an invasive operation, he should be bedridden for a good few weeks!'

"Jackpot… That means I'll get to use one of those swanky bathrooms!" He grinned in triumph as he imagined all the random and useless objects that he could play with. Trial and Error were his only friends when dealing with technology.

Mimori blushed a little bit and quietly interjected, "Um… If… If you don't mind… you can use my shower." It was a little embarrassing that Kazuma would be in her apartment, but even more that he'd see how disorganized she was… Mimori had only been in the room for a few hours, and that was to sleep, yet somehow she managed to trash the place.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Mimori Kiryuu's face flushed bright red as she opened the door to her tiny apartment, and let Kazuma in. "Er… I know it's a little dirty, but I haven't really had time to keep it clean, you know?"

Wide eyed, he glanced around the room. "You call this dirty! It's spotless!" Everything seemed to shine with cleanliness in the room. He noticed two things and grinned, his voice dripping with playful sarcasm, "Oh, sorry. I was wrong. It's horridly dirty, 'cause you have a coat draped across the chair, and that necklace thingy you used to wear's layin' on the table." He patted her on the back and chuckled to himself, "Real pig sty you got here."

She folded her arms and sourly said, "It's dirty to me! I usually keep my room spotless." She shook her head and led Kazuma to the bathroom. "It has everything you'd need, so you should be fine."

His eyes sparkled with delight as he glanced around at all the shining and gleaming knobs and buttons. Murmuring under his breath, Kazuma laughed in devious anticipation, "Heheh… Got a bunch of stuff to mess with!"

"What was that, Kazuma?" The doctor turned to him and cocked her head to the right a little, and half stepped out the door.

He faced her and shrugged, pretending he had kept silence in the preceeding moments. Kazuma could tell she wouldn't be particularly happy with him if he played with all of the random buttons, levers, and knobs, but it was like an addiction… He couldn't stop himself. "Nothin'. I didn't say anythin'. I was just sorta talkin' to myself, you know?"

"Oh… Alright then. I'll leave you to your business." She stepped out of the room, but turned back around, saying, "The towels are in the cabinet up there." Before closing the bathroom door, she tapped one of the cupboards.

Kazuma turned the first knob in the shower and grinned as water began to pour out of it.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

She knew he'd do it. From the second she saw his eyes light up, she knew it. Mimori tried her best to keep her mind off of the bathroom, and the potential damage that Kazuma could be inflicting with his random use of every piece of technology in the room.

She shook her head in resignation as she thought about telling Kazuma about the piece of matter she had removed from his body. "Should I? No… I have to… but the thing is… I don't know _what _to tell him. All I know about the material I removed is that it had something to do with Alters… I mean… It did the exact same thing as when any Alter User activates their powers… It just sort of dematerialized."

The black material dissipating before her eyes continued to play in her mind, as she watched it happen over and over again. There was no logical explanation for it, and she didn't even want to attempt to fathom it. Thankfully, she had been able to isolate the central mass of the large, black object, keeping it from dissolving, so it could be used for further examination.

Mimori sat down at her kitchen table and let out a long, heaving sigh. She put her head down, using her arms as a feeble attempt at a pillow. "Oh, it's all so much to think about right now…"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

'Man… I'm almost _too_ clean…' Kazuma thought as he dried himself off. He rubbed delicately at his chest, which was still stitched up, and groaned, "Note to self: Soap and cuts to _not _mix… That thing hurt like a bitch."

He quickly wiped himself down with the grey towel in his hand, and then furiously rubbed it against his hair, until it was only slightly damp.

He stared somberly in the mirror, examining his body, and his many scars. Shaking his head, he looked around, "Wow… Didn't expect it to get so quiet…"

Kazuma quickly changed into a set of clothes that had been lent to him. They were simple, consisting of only jeans and a tee-shirt. He hadn't put the shirt on though, because he was still wet, and it would only make him uncomfortable.

He threw his towel over the mirror so that he didn't have to face himself. It would only make him feel badly. Kazuma knew that, though he was strong, he was also damaged… and felt that given the opportunity, most women would take somebody the polar opposite of him…

He wound up and punched the wall, as an unmistakable rage over took him. "Why should I care? I don't need a girl or nothin'. I mean… I don't even really know who I am…" Grabbing his shirt he stalked out of the bathroom, and looked around for Mimori.

The hard edge in his eyes instantly softened as he saw the sleeping form of the doctor resting her head on the table. "I guess I really have worn you out, y'know?"

He shifted his weight back and forth between his feet for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. He stepped forward apprehensively and reached towards her with both arms nervously. Again, he paused, trying to decide if he should do what he planned.

Mimori shivered when his cool hands wrapped around her, despite the fact that she was covered from head to toe in clothing. He gently pulled her up out of the char, and held onto her like a baby, with her head resting comfortably in the crook of his neck. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist, and he shifted her slightly, because she was pressing against the gash on his chest. The zipper on her shirt had been jabbing into the tender region, causing great discomfort to the powerful, yet amnesiac Alter User.

With careful and measured steps, Kazuma began poking around in the apartment, trying to determine where her bedroom would be. After a few minutes of fervent investigation, he found her room. Kazuma gently set her down on her bed, and turned to leave the room. As he reached the door, he heard the woman shifting uncomfortably. The Alter User wheeled around, catching her in the last few seconds of a shiver.

"Ah… Sorry 'bout that, Mimori." The young man glanced around and seized a blanket off of the chair near to her bed, and tenderly spread it over her. It was night, for his sunshine was asleep, lost within her dreamscape. Careful not to disturb her, he caressed her cheek, and then left the room.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Darkness… Everything was shrouded in darkness.

Kazuma lie on the couch, bundled up with a thick blanket. Whatever he had touched on the wall, it made everything seem drastically colder. He was in a protective cocoon, shielding himself from the cold with the sheer thickness of the cover, which trapped his own usually high body heat inside.

A dull ache was the only thing that reminded Kazuma of his injuries. It was annoying at best, but it didn't trouble him too much, because he wasn't moving around. 'Damn body. Why aren't you healin' quicker? Stupid ache…'

His eyes weren't focusing on anything at all, and simply seemed to space out. Finally he closed his eyes, allowing himself to try to sleep.

Silence… Nothing was heard.

"Mimori Kiryuu… I'm glad we met…" After a lengthy pause, he chuckled to himself, "Heheh… And I'm glad I smashed your jeep."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:--:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

**Author's Notes**: Okay, I've decided that the story's going to be between 8 and 10 chapters. It might be _slightly _longer, perhaps 12, but I'm not sure.

**Random Bonus**: This one should be easy. It's a LOT better known. Okay, Mimori says something to Kazuma in the second section. It's part of a lyric for a song. Which song is it, and what band performs it? The band has a two part name that is REALLY weird. Come on, this is a CLASSIC band, if you don't get it…

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: Well, the first bonus was Amir Derakh (when you say his name fast, it sounds like "I'm Here to Rock"!). He was the guitarist for Rough Cutt, and is currently in Orgy and Julien-K. The Double Bonus was almost impossible. One Sec is a song by a band called Drug For Joy. The only way to have found them is probably Myspace.


	6. In Bloom

**Foreword**: Stuff. I don't know, just review for me, alright? Tell me how you like it. I can't believe nobody caught that at the end of the story! I mean… Kazuma should've forgotten the Jeep with his Amnesia… Does anybody else think his memory is coming back? HINT! HINT! Also… **Review**. I beg of you. It's what keeps me writing.

**Disclaimer**: I own only my stories and ideas!

* * *

**In Bloom**

The whole apartment was dead silent, despite the buzz of excitement outside. The darkened room had only slim shafts of light shining through the blinds in the window.

Weary, chocolate eyes slowly opened, and a large yawn radiated from her lips. "Whew… That's funny…" Her whole body seemed to try to draw up into a ball even as she stretched herself out. Rubbing drowsily at her eyes, and shaking the sleep out of her head, the woman continued her sentence, "I don't remember getting into bed last night."

She rolled out of bed and looked down at herself. "I _definitely _didn't get into bed… I _never _sleep in my regular clothes." Mimori wrinkled her nose and exited her room, stepping directly into the bathroom.

Taking one look around, she instantly reset the shower to her preferences. Everything about her shower was set exactly the way she liked it, and it was most convenient to have it that way. "At least Kazuma didn't mess up anything _too_ badly…"

She felt herself smiling, and allowed herself a slight chuckle. "Kazuma…" she said, "Not a bad thought to wake up to."

Mimori quickly stripped down, and stepped into the shower, feeling the revitalizing waters pouring over her sleek body.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Through the walls, the water from the shower could be heard, but generally, the room was still quiet. Seconds ticked by, when the silence was broken. There was a loud banging at the door. It continued its incessant beat, slowly rousing the occupant of the apartment.

Moaning with weariness, Kazuma rolled off of the couch and blinked a few times. Finally realizing that the door was being assaulted, he let out a massive yawn, saying, "Goddamn… What the hell d'you want? It's friggin'…" He glanced over at a digital clock on the counter and finished, "eight in the morning…"

Clad only in a pair of silky, black pants, Kazuma opened the door, with his stitched up wound glistening with moisture and coagulated, if not crusted over blood. His hair was tousled and a faint five o'clock shadow was visible on his face. "Need somethin'? Had a pretty busy night, so if you don't, think you could leave? I'm ready to go back to sleep."

Visibly bristling, Ryuho stared daggers into Kazuma. "_Busy_, you say… In what respect?"

Kazuma, obviously seeing that it was ruffling the normally composed man's feathers, decided to play a little joke on him. "Heh, me and Mimori were up pretty late, if you catch my drift."

"You were… You were not!" His aggressive tone of voice betrayed his wishes to fight. The golden-eyed Alter User could easily tell that this man was ready to start some trouble… but he just couldn't resist.

"Yep," Kazuma chuckled to himself and said, "She ran a few…" As he said the final word, he winked at the green haired man, "_tests_."

The new Commander of HOLY bridled and stiffly said, "I think I'd best speak with Miss Kiryuu."

"No can do, buddy." Kazuma jabbed a thumb towards the bathroom, "She's in the shower. Had to clean herself up after yesterday. She's pretty worn to the bone."

"Kazuma? Who's at the door?" Mimori, clad in many towels, as to keep her body covered up, strode out into the main room of the apartment.

"Think it's your boss or somethin'. You know, that crazy-lookin' dude with the green helmet… oh wait… That's his hair, never mind!" Kazuma stepped away from the door and winked at Mimori, "Lookin' good, even this early."

The raven-haired doctor blushed and stammered unintelligibly, then stumbled into her room. 'Kazuma just… Does…? I wonder… Could he possibly feel…?' Leaning against the door, she let out a massive sigh, then got herself dressed.

Clearing her head, Mimori stepped back out into the main room of her apartment and said, "Er… Good morning, Ryuho… I, um… wasn't expecting any visitors…"

"Apparently." He folded his arms, ignoring Kazuma altogether. "You didn't log in your activities yesterday. Everyone thought something…" Looking directly at Kazuma, he deliberately said, "_bad_… might have happened."

Shocked that she could've forgotten such a detail, Mimori bit her lower lip and scratched her head. "Oh… it must have slipped my mind. Forgive me. I was just so busy yester-"

"So Kazuma has already informed me." Ryuho turned away from her, obviously angry at something, and spoke to her with an ice cold demeanor, "I do not believe that you should shirk your duties simply because you are doing certain things with certain… _people_." With that said, he left the room in a furious huff.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow and said, "He always got a stick up his ass?"

"…" Mimori stayed silent for a few moments, trying to figure out what happened. She sighed and shrugged, "…generally."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So… why… am… I… on… this… treadmill…?" Kazuma asked between breaths. "You've… had me… on it for… friggin'… hours…" It was easy to see that he was running out of steam.

"Like I said before, I need to monitor your lungs and heart… They were running at about ten percent of a normal person's capacity, and I know you are a _little_ stronger than a normal person." With a look of admiration and pride, she finished, "But… It seems that you're up to about two thousand percent of a normal person's capacity."

The powerful Alter User continued the grueling pace and breathed out, "That… good?"

"Kazuma, in your shape, even with your chest all… In short, you could run two laps around The Lost Grounds without stopping. That's… quite frankly, that's amazing. I wonder what you could do in peak condition…" Mimori's head began to fill up with all the different tests she could run. Snapping back to reality, she stifled a yawn and sat back, watching the young man's powerful, sinewy body.

Deep within her body, she felt things welling up… emotions that she had never been encouraged to show. She was feeling desire… She was feeling love. The fact that Kazuma was finally physically well again took a great burden off of her heart.

"Can't… I get… offa… this… thing?" Kazuma looked over at her, breathing heavily. His whole body was drenched in sweat, and his dark brown hair was matted down against his head.

The doctor glanced at her watch, and finally said, "Oh, er… Yes, you can get off now."

Letting out a massive sigh of relief, the man hopped off of the treadmill and fused himself to a chair, resolving to not move for a little while. "God… Are you tryin' to run me into the ground?"

"Not intentionally," she smiled at her own little joke, and continued, "These tests are really important." Taking a few steps towards him, she poked and prodded at his shirtless chest, examining the stitches on his chest. "Hmm… It's only been two days since the operation, and yet your body has completely sealed the wound shut." After a few moments of inspection, she said, "There doesn't seem to be any damage… except for a large scar, you should be fine." Remaining thoughtfully silent for a short period, Mimori finally spoke again, "Is there any discomfort in that region? Pain, aching, that sort of thing?"

"Nope, nothin', Doc. I'm feelin' great… 'cept for the sheer, mind numbin' boredom. All these tests are so boring, y'know?" He stood back up, having caught his breath, and took a swig from a water bottle on the counter next to the woman.

Mimori bit her lower lip and nervously played with her long, luxurious, black hair. "Well… I've been sort of apprehensive to do this but… if you'd like… Perhaps now is the time to test out your arm."

The young man stared at her blankly, with no emotion showing on his face. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for you to say that." Kazuma wiped himself down with a towel, and grinned at her.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Now… Um… Use your Alter and hit that." Mimori vaguely motioned with her hand towards the other side of the padded gym.

"Heh, it's all mine." Random oddities, such as chairs and tables disintegrated, and reformed as Shell Bullet. The orange and red gauntlet laced itself around his arm, while the crimson fins began to fan out from his back. His voice started out as a low, deep growl, but rose to a roar as he shouted, "Shocking First _Bullet!_"

A fin from his shoulder evaporated into green mist, and he was rapidly propelled forward in a corkscrew motion. Lashing out with his armored fist, he collided with the massive stone wall meant for rock climbing. Ripping straight through it, Kazuma landed on the ground in a crouching position, whipping his leg out for three hundred sixty degrees, so as to slow himself down without injury.

Dust, gravel and shards of rock rained down for about fifteen feet, as the whole wall collapsed.

"Kazuma… That was the rock climbing wall… I meant _that_." Mimori pointed at a punching bag set up neatly in the middle of the room.

Sighing, he slapped himself on the forehead, "Er… uh… That's alright! I liked the wall better. I mean, I've hit things much bigger, so I just figured…"

"I should've known," she breathed. Sighing, she though about the damages that would have to be paid for, and the severe chewing out she was going to get by the janitor. "Er… I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. Kazuma, relative to your other times, how did that feel?"

"Uh… I dunno. I sorta had more control and… actually, that was probably the strongest Bullet I've ever felt. I mean… I dunno, maybe I'm overreacting or somethin', but that felt great!" Kazuma flexed his arm and looked over his shoulder, making sure that he still had two fins left. "It was only the first one too."

Mimori scratched at her scalp, and stared long and hard at the young man. After a while, she finally let up on her staring, and said, "Well, Kazuma… before you destroy anything _else_, I want you to… You know, switch forms. Try to get your Alter as… Hmm… How do I word this? Okay, Kazuma, use your strongest Alter power."

"I been itchin' to try this out!" he cried with an arrogant grin on his face. Holding his arm in front of him, he closed his eyes for a moment, before snapping them open. He grunted as he felt his body morphing and changing. It was an exhilarating experience. One that he hadn't felt for a while. From deep within his body, Kazuma felt energy welling up like a geyser. He could feel every single muscle within his body tense, and knew that he was completely ready for action.

The doctor stared in astonishment as she looked over her friend. "Kazuma… You…"

Kazuma looked disappointed as he stared down at the gauntleted hand. He could only reach his second form Alter. "All that power… down the drain… I can't even get into my last stage… _Damn it_!"

Mimori giggled at the mental image, and said, "Well, Kazuma… you _did _look a little funny in that form…"

"You're tellin' me! I was the one who had to wear that fruity little helmet and wear that damn jumpsuit thing…" Kazuma visibly shuddered, and said, "As much as I miss the power, I ain't gonna miss the getup."

The woman laughed again, and smiled at him.

"You know… You should do that more often." Kazuma fidgeted with his arm and slowly looked up at Mimori. "Smile and laugh, I mean… It's nice to hear you doin' that sorta thing. Eheh… uh…" He was at a loss for words. Blushing slightly, the young man turned seemed to shrink in embarrassment.

"Kazuma…" She smiled sweetly at him, and then took a few tentative steps towards him. Standing on her tip toes, she kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kazuma was completely refreshed. He had just gotten out of the shower, and his damp skin seemed to emit a thin veil of steam. The young man sprawled out on the couch and murmured, "Mimori… Kiryuu… She's nice… hell, she's almost a saint. Beautiful too… Wonder if… I wonder if there's any chance I could… Nah, I'm just settin' myself up for disappointment. Don't wanna get too hopeful just yet… It would be nice though…"

Mimori, leaning against her door frame, heard every word that her friend- possibly _more_- had said. Fluttering madly, her heart continued to frantically beat against her chest. 'He… He does.' After the initial shock factor wore off, she stared at the man lounging on the couch, and slowly cleared her throat.

Instantly hopping up from the couch, Kazuma, flushed with embarrassment, stammered, "M-Mimori? Did you he-"

She nodded with a small smile. Taking slow and deliberate steps, she walked up to him, staring straight into his golden eyes. She placed her arms around him and rested her head against his chest. "Do… do you want my answer?"

Kazuma did the same, wrapping his arms delicately around her, acting as though she was fragile glass, and the slightest thing could shatter her. Feeling her against him, Kazuma spoke softly down to her, "I think I already know it, but… Yeah. It'd be nice."

"I… I'm…" She saw his face get closer to her own, and her own voice was lowered to a whisper. "I'm in love with… _you_, Kazuma… I have been for some time now…" Mimori smiled warmly as her own face approached his.

Their lips brushed together lightly, almost as though they hadn't touched at all. Yet, even this small action was being burned into both of their minds. Closing their eyes, both heads slowly began to move together…

* * *

**Author's Notes**: And there ya have it. Hope you liked it, and hope you review. I only got two reviews last time… I was kinda hoping people were reading this. Show me you're reading and review, please.

**Random Bonus**: The title of this chapter is a song by what band?

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: The last bonus was "Free Bird" by _Lynyrd Skynyrd_.


	7. Flooding Fury

**Foreword**: Well, here's my new chapter! Hope you guys like it! And please, review, I'm begging you all!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own s-CRY-ed. I do own this story though.

* * *

**Flooding Fury**

Both people flinched visibly as the buzzing of Mimori's doorbell broke the romantic atmosphere that they had been enveloped by.

Kazuma sighed out a very audible, "Damn it… We were so close." He could feel Mimori wiggling out of his grasp.

"Hold that thought, will you? I'll be right back." Mimori trudged to the door. She was apparently agitated that such a special moment was screwed up by a door bell, and whoever was on the other side of the door. She pulled the door open, and said, "Yes? Did you need something?" Though she sounded polite, there was definitely a brusque undertone to her voice.

"Did I… _interrupt_ something?" A cool voice filtered into the room, reaching Kazuma's ears.

The fiery fist fighter strode up to the door, and slung an arm around Mimori's shoulder. He gently massaged her shoulder, and smiled at their guest, nodding.

Though startled by her new-found love's actions, Mimori stayed focused and managed to say, "Well… yes, a little bit."

"I see…" Ryuho folded his arms tighter and pursed his lips in anger. "Mimori, may I speak with you outside _alone_?"

"What are you doing with _him_?" the new commander of HOLY said, accusingly. His sharp eyes seemed to impale Mimori, as he asserted his dominance in the situation.

The doctor raised an eyebrow, and stated as though it were completely obvious, "Uh… He's _staying_ with me, _remember_? He just got finished with surgeries, and I've been running tests on him almost non-stop."

'That lying little… _Kazuma_… I _knew _Mimori would never do what you had said she had!' Ryuho very stiffly said, "Then if he is finished, I would like him gone. He poses a threat to this facility."

"A _threat?_" she cried, "Kazuma's as gentle as a lamb, when he wants to be! He doesn't pose any sort of threat to anybody!" Mimori thought back to many of her fond memories… Kazuma wasn't just a brute… Deep down, he was really a pleasant person.

Ryuho scratched angrily at his scalp, and his eyes widened as he snarled, "And what about what he did to the climbing wall? You call _that _gentle? It was almost completely obliterated! Just because _he_ is your _current_…" He seemed to spit out the next words, "_lover_ does _not _mean that he can simply destroy HOLY property!"

"That's… not the reason. It was a miscommunication between Kazuma and myself. You say current as though I've dated everyone on the Island! Also, there is a distinct difference between being 'lovers' and being 'in love' with somebody… Look, Ryuho, I know you don't like Kazuma, but just deal with it… because _I do_."

Anger, confusion, sadness, a sense of being betrayed… They were all reflected in his eyes. "You used to have the _same_ feelings for _me_, Mimori! How can you… How could you _do_ something like this to me?"

"They… They're _not_ the same feelings, Ryuho… I don't think I ever _truly_ loved you as I love Kazuma… I was just enamored with you… ever since we were children… You were a childhood crush… an infatuation… I'm sorry, but I must be honest." Mimori looked sad and torn apart… She felt as though she was being too harsh on the man, but she also felt that it was important that he learned the truth…

Her words hit hard, like a sledge hammer straight to the face. "An _infatuation?_" he growled, stepping closer to Mimori "What do you mean _infatuation!_"

"You just… weren't there for me when I needed you… You weren't there for me in the way I wanted you to be… How could _you_ do that to _me?_ You made me feel so worthless… like a simple pawn, or bargaining chip… But Kazuma is _always_ there for me… He's always worried about how I'm doing, or how I'm feeling… I'm… I'm in _love_ with him, Ryuho… Can't you understand that?" She smiled, thinking of Kazuma and his quirky attitude… he may not have been the brightest, or most perceptive person, or even the nicest at times, but he was always dependable… She could always count on him. Mimori was in love with _all _of Kazuma…

"But what about _me?_" he hissed, his eyes blazing with frustration.

Mimori folded her arms and glared at him in a complete one-eighty mood swing, "… So what _about_ you?"

Ryuho was left completely speechless, and he simply stood there, stunned.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kazuma stood in the middle of the kitchen, chewing through an apple. He silently regarded the little box on the wall, and looked around shiftily, before playing with the switches.

Countless minutes later, he heard the door shut, and immediately jumped away from the thermostat. Mimori trudged in slowly, looking very tired, and more annoyed than usual. She looked around confused, and shivers assailed her body. "Why is it so cold in here?"

Kazuma shifted uncomfortably, like a little kid with his hand in a cookie jar. "Well… um… I was sorta playin' with that thing on the wall over there." He waved an arm towards the thermostat, and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

She appraised the small box, and looked over at the man. "Kazuma… you set it to the coldest setting…"

"Sorry… didn't know what it did, so I just started playin' with it," Kazuma said, shrugging and frowning apologetically.

The black haired doctor smiled gently at him, and patted him on the shoulder, "That's alright, Kazuma… I was just wondering why I was getting so cold." She pivoted at the hips and reset the thermostat to where it would create a comfortable environment in the room.

Taking a few steps forward, Kazuma placed his arms around Mimori's waist and smiled down at her, giving a quick, reassuring squeeze.

She seemingly melted within his grasps. Mimori braced her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, letting her tension escape her. All of her worries vanished, including those involving a certain Commander of HOLY. Though greatly appreciative, she had to question Kazuma's motives. "So what was that for?"

"Nothin'. You looked like you needed it, that's all." The normally explosive man caressed her cheek and winked before walking off to dig in the refrigerator for food.

As she watched the young man root through her food, she whispered under her breath, keeping her words for only herself, "Kazuma… You truly care about me… I know you do… I can tell by all of your actions, and just by the way you look at me…" Grinning slightly, she spoke aloud and chuckled, "Well… it's a couple hundred steps up from my _last _relationship."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Sweat dripped off of his lean body in droplets, as he continued throwing attack after savage attack at the punching bag. His green hair was matted down to his head, as he continued fighting against the inanimate leather bag.

He heard a rustling noise, and looked over to his left, catching sight of a duffel bag being tossed against the wall. "Ah…" The young man who had entered the room quickly pulled off his shirt and began to stretch his arms out.

"Kazuma…" Ryuho growled as he lashed out with his leg towards the punching bag, viciously rattling the inanimate object.

The fist fighter had healed almost completely, with only a tiny bit of discomfort within his shoulder and arm. He let out a massive yawn and scratched at his face. Instead of his usual clothes, he was given clothes that he could use in the gym. He appraised the sleek, black pants, and snowy white sleeveless shirt that he had received.

Snorting, Kazuma tossed the shirt off to the side. "Ain't gonna need that. Just gonna get all sweaty." The young man plunked down on the floor and quickly began to stretch his whole body out.

Carefully calculating and formulating a plan, Ryuho stared at the man who had taken Mimori from him. 'There are so many ways I could defeat him… I must choose one, and adhere to it.'

Rolling onto his upper back, Kazuma flicked his legs out, springing himself into the air, and to his feet. The young fighter cracked his neck, and then his knuckles, before dropping himself into a plausible fighting stance.

He stepped up towards another of the myriad of punching bags, and reeled his arm back. The blow was as fast as lightning, and powerful like a raging hurricane. It was so quick, that even Ryuho had trouble tracking the punch.

"Oh, son of a...!" Kazuma cried, as he watched the bag hit the floor, completely ripped out of the ceiling. He instantly hopped back a few steps and raised his hands into the air, as if showing his innocence. "Nope! Not me! It was not… Wh-What are you talking about? I… It's fine…"

"You _broke_ it. It's obviously _not _fine." Ryuho stepped forward and folded his arms, harshly staring at Kazuma.

"Dunno what you're talkin' about, dude. Come on, it was just an accident. Isn't like I did it on purpose." Kazuma shrugged and clutched at his forearm, gently, yet still firmly massaging it, trying to keep the pain from pulsating through it.

"Your strike… It was sloppy, at best. An attack like that would be useless against a living opponent." The green haired commander turned and allowed his leg to shoot out, colliding with another punching bag close to them. The sheer force of the blow blasted the bag backwards, and sailed off of the rafters it was secured to.

Though it landed closer to the pair than Kazuma's, it was, without a doubt, a cleaner attack, than Kazuma's was.

"What's your problem, man? You're always actin' like you got a fork up your ass, and somebody's tryin' to fit in the rest of the utensils and a plate." Kazuma was on guard. He could tell that there was something amiss. This man had something dangerous in mind for Kazuma.

"I do not act like that," Ryuho retorted curtly. He began circling Kazuma, like a cat cornering its prey, and he slowly said, "How about we test this… "strength" of yours? I'm sure you do not remember our last face off… but I have improved tenfold, since that day. How about it, Kazuma? How about a sparring match?"

The chilling smile on his face would've sent most people packing, but, Kazuma, as always, simply shrugged it off and laughed. "Sparring? You're jokin' right? I ain't never half-assed a fight in my life, and I ain't startin' now. This is gonna be a full fledged brawl…" Grinning wickedly, Kazuma added in, "No holds barred."

"Alters?"

"Only if you think you're man enough." Kazuma smiled slyly as Shell Bullet split his arm, and bound it back together, within the confines of his metallic gauntlet.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Mimori sat at her desk, diligently filling out sheet after sheet of medical forms. Stifling a yawn, the woman readjusted her glasses, and skimmed through the paper, before signing her name at the bottom and repeating the process with a new form.

She paused or a moment, sipping at her cup of coffee. Wryly staring into the liquid, she noted that it was extremely bitter. "I should have grabbed some sugar, at the very least."

The floor under her seemed to tremble for a slight moment. Remaining perfectly still, Mimori's whole body tensed. After a few moments, the feeling subsided, and she continued to work on her papers, as she was a few weeks behind, due to her constant maintenance of her friend, and new found love interest, Kazuma.

This time, the floor shuddered violently, and she ended up scribbling all over the form, as her coffee spilled down the front of her desk. "Oh, _darn_ it…" she mumbled.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Having trouble keeping up?" Ryuho spat as he sent Zetsuei ricocheting towards Kazuma. "It seems that you are weaker than I estimated."

"Shaddup, jackass! _Shell Bullet Burst!_" Rapidly propelled towards the commander of HOLY's alter, Kazuma completely ripped through Zetsuei, releasing a massive explosion of light. "I ain't no pushover! I'm just gettin' warmed up!" Twisting through the air, Kazuma landed a blow square across Ryuho's face, sending the man flying into the wall, shattering bricks and bending metal.

Dislodging himself from the wall, the man struggled to keep to his feet. "… I did not expect to be forced to use this… especially not in your current state. What must be done, must be done." Ryuho began glowing, as he started to reformulate his Alter, Zetsuei.

The humanoid quickly shifted forms into the much larger, gorgon-esque creature. A whirling vortex of energy surrounded both of them, as master and servant began to merge into one mystical warrior. "There is no hope for victory now, Kazuma… I know that you are limited to only that form, and the weaker form of your pitiful Alter."

Like a howling wind, Ryuho slashed through the air, biting into Kazuma with the blades gripped in his hands.

Grinding his teeth, Kazuma fought back against the pain within his body. Using the last amount of strength available to his body, the mercenary shot forward, grabbing hold of his foe, and trapping him to the ground with his lion-like paws.

The downed officer of HOLY continued slashing at Kazuma with the bladed weapons gripped tightly in his hands. This wasn't just a fight… it was a life or death struggle.

"Both of you! Stop this, please!" Mimori's voice filtered into the room. The doctor quickly ran to both of their sides, and placed her arms around Kazuma, gently persuading him to let go of her boss.

The simplest of touches seemed to calm him, as Kazuma receded from his position atop Ryuho, and instead backed away, in the embrace of Mimori. "Just calm down, Kazuma… He was just trying to goad you into fighting…"

"Well, it worked…" Kazuma gave Mimori's arm a gentle squeeze, and smiled at her. "Thanks a lot… I got a little carried away back there."

"You are a disgrace, Kazuma…" Ryuho's voice shot darts into "The Shell Bullet". "You can do nothing… You could not defend your useless friend, and you certainly could not defend Ms. Kiryuu."

Kazuma stopped dead in his tracks, as pictures of a black haired man surged through his mind. He couldn't place a name with them, but he knew that something was wrong with them. This man that he could see… he had passed.

Whole body trembling with rage, Kazuma turned around slowly, and deliberately, fixing his flashing, dangerous, golden irises on Ryuho.

Kimishima.

That was the name. It had finally returned to its pictures.

"I will _always _keep Mimori safe… I won't let the same thing happen to her that happened to Kimishima… I will _ALWAYS_ keep Mimori safe from harm!"

"But you can't… You are not strong enough. You are nothing but a weakling, Kazuma, The Shell Bullet."

Nothing… Weakling…

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I hope you guys weren't waiting for _too_ long… Sorry if you were, but I was working on another story! Anyway, there you have it. And yes… Things have an annoying tendency to pop up right at important moments, hahaha. Goddamn it... My computer is still being stupid. I think something's messed up... It's not registering in my own computer that I updated.

**Random Bonus**: Ah… This one will be hard. What movie did I take the line "So what _about_ you?" from? I'll give you a hint, it's from a cult classic movie from 1979, and it's about gangs.

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: Nirvana wrote "In Bloom".


	8. Searing Wrath

**Foreword**: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I wanted to get in this whole fight scene, and not break it up at all. Hope you enjoy! ALSO! You should check out my profile page, and scroll all the way to the bottom, then click the link. Before it fully loads, read down until Kazuma transforms, then take a gander at the picture.

**A Special Thanks To**: I would like to thank all of my faithful reviewers, like Kihatoko, Dave-In-Exile, and Shun One, along with everybody else. You guys are my inspiration, and I'm writing this for you guys. And Kihatoko, thank you for your kind words on the last chapter. Hopefully, you'll enjoy this one even more than the last.

**Disclaimer**: Nope… Don't own it still. If I did, this would be season two, folks. Also, I own Kazuma's re-imagined Alter state… nobody better steal my picture and use it without my permission, and nobody better use my idea without my permission.

* * *

**Searing Wrath**

Nothing… Weakling…

'No. That's not true. I refuse to let other people talk crap about me. I refuse to let it all just slide. I am something. I _will _protect her… I love Mimori, and I'll keep on fighting for her safety.'

'But what if you couldn't protect her? What if she ends up like Kimishima? She would be dead, and it would be all _your _fault…'

Countless images flashed through his head, each more grotesque than the last. Mimori's cold, lifeless body plagued each of the single images.

'You can't stop it the way you are… You're just a wuss. She's just like a cheap puzzle… She'll fall to pieces as soon as you lift your hand up.'

"_I WON'T LET YOU FALL APART!_" Kazuma screamed, as he fell to his knees. Raising his massive, gauntleted fist, he began pummeling the ground furiously with both fists. Pressing his hands to his chest, he began pulling, ripping, and tearing at his own body, all the while convulsing in rage. Again he pounded away at the ground, until finally cradling his head with both arms, while letting out a long, loud moan of anguish.

He slowly clutched at his right arm, as it began to glow brightly, and pressure seemed to build rapidly within his body. Letting out another scream, Kazuma's whole right arm emitted a dazzling light, and the sounds of metal shattering resounded within the room, as his arm cracked into tiny pieces.

The light continued to grow, and fountained out from him in a shower of incandescent radiance.

As the brilliant light ebbed, Kazuma's kneeling figure, sprawled out on his hands and knees seemed to show through. His whole body was covered in gleaming plates of gold, orange, silver, and red. Three crimson fins adorned each shoulder, and rested slightly above the giant, curved blade that served as a propeller. Both arms were encased in the lustrous golden gleam of the original form of Shell Bullet. The plates and armor snaked its way down all of Kazuma's body, protecting most of him, except for a few spots on the legs. Underneath of this glistening armor, a jet black metal casing glimmered in the bright lighting of the room.

Kazuma slowly got to his feet, flexing his arms, and staring Ryuho into the eyes with the unbridled fury of a fallen angel. The raging storm was barely contained within his golden irises, as he attempted to glare daggers into the commander of HOLY.

Mimori rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Kazuma. "Please, _please_ stop this! There's no need to fight each other!"

Kazuma did not even acknowledge that she had said anything, but simply stood still, like a looming embodiment of wrath. Quietly, he murmured to the person latched to him. "Let go, Mimori…"

Slowly, and reluctantly, the doctor's arms slipped off of him, and she took a few steps back. 'Th-there's nothing… Nothing I can do… He's made up his mind.'

"I ain't done yet, jackass… I can still fight with you. Come on, you cocky bastard!" Kazuma's body emanated a faint glimmer of golden light from the polished armor. He clenched both fists tightly, as he bared his fang-like teeth at Ryuho, in the most animalistic way possible.

'He's scary like this… He's so determined that it seems all he wants to do is destroy things…' Mimori shook her head swiftly and reprimanded herself. 'No… It can't be that way. I know that these two are destined to fight. Kazuma is not an animal… He's more of a human than anybody else I know.'

Blinking in amazement, Ryuho steeled himself, saying only, "You look even smaller than usual like that. This disappoints me. I would bet that you cannot even control that thing." He put himself into a defensive fighting stance, breathing calmly. His ice cold exterior belied his interior strife. The ire that had been raised by simply seeing Kazuma was doubling at an alarming rate. 'I do not know what he is capable of, currently… Perhaps it is best to let _him_ make the first move.'

Shaking furiously, Kazuma's whole body seemed to exude a wave of power. Even his clear, golden eyes were shaking in rage, and refused to focus on their target. The body of Ryuho began to blur, phasing in and out of his vision. 'Why am I so angry? I know somethin' just pisses me off about that guy, but it's never been this bad before…'

Immediately, his eyes focused on the armored figure that was his opponent. 'It's Mimori. I'm fighting for her… to prove to myself that I can protect her. It's just a bonus that I'm about to destroy _this_ son of a bitch.'

Smiling faintly, Mimori folded her arms across her chest, assessing the situation. 'Kazuma is _always_ in touch with his emotions… He always stands up for what he believes, and leads his own path… He really is more human than anybody I know… and I have him all to myself… Sometimes I don't know why I'm so lucky.'

"I ain't small, you pompous bastard! And I'll _show_ youwho has _control!_" the gold-encased Alter screamed, as a green, fluorescent mist began to fountain from the fins on his shoulders. Different from his old Shell Bullet, these fins did not disintegrate, but instead just continued to emit the green energy. A whipping noise sounded out in the room, as the propeller on his back began to twist and turn, bringing itself to life.

As the rapid revolutions of the bladed propeller increased in velocity, the energy released from the fins began to change color. Bright green changed to blazing gold, as it was whipped around by the twirling blade.

Kazuma crouched down, and dug his clawed, gauntleted fingers into the ground. Using all of his strength, and also the force of the energy behind him, he used his arms like a slingshot, catapulting his body towards his foe. Like a raging cyclone, Kazuma's whole body twisted through the air, with the golden stream of power blasting behind him.

'This situation does not bode well …' Dropping into a low crouch, the green haired commander pulled the blades off of his shoulders and prepared to slash through Kazuma. 'Hmm… He used to be faster. I see that he's slowing down. This should be simple.'

Kazuma hopped up from the ground, and began to leap from side to side, while continuing forward. The fluid motion of each jump began to change his speed. As he hit the ground, he shot his leg out, spinning around in a spiral. Although it would seem that he was ready to stop his attack, the young man continued his spiral, and kicked off of the ground. He seemed to erupt off of the ground, and blasted off, shooting towards Ryuho once again.

This time, he was not slow. The light seemed to bend, and the image of Kazuma shooting through the air seemed to distort.

As Ryuho's eyes widened, he realized that it was too late. 'Damn… I underestimated hi-'

A gauntleted fist buried itself into his stomach, and Shell Bullet's twin pistons slammed down, making a massive explosion at the point where the fist had rammed into Ryuho. Hurled out of the fiery blast by the eruptive power of Kazuma's Shell Bullet, the commander was launched into the air in a long arc.

Again, Kazuma blasted into the air, and unleashed a furious assault on Ryuho, punching him again and again.

The Master of Zetsuei was not helpless, in any way, however. With each blow that he took, the new Commander of HOLY returned a strike with his bladed instruments, biting into the exposed skin of Kazuma's face, and also attempting to penetrate the seemingly impregnable golden, orange and black armor.

Both dropped to the ground, Kazuma standing firmly on both feet, while Ryuho fell to a knee. Bleeding from shallow cuts in his face, Kazuma simply reached up to them and whisked the red liquid away, using his metallic arms. "You're winded after that? I thought you said you were strong."

Mimori stood in silence, watching the two men brawl. A thin stream of tears dripped down from her eyes, as she whispered, "I hate fighting… Why… Why can't they just stop? I know that they _have_ to fight, though…" Sighing, she remembered the words of Asuka Tachibana, and said, "Perhaps… Perhaps some day, I will help Kazuma prove that he is alive by my love for him… He does not need all of this fighting, just for something like that…"

Grunting in frustration, Ryuho flicked his blades around, getting comfortable, and he slowly managed to pull himself to his feet. "I am… _not_ finished… just yet." The green haired commander shot forward at high speeds, brandishing his weapons. He aimed his strike with deadly precision, prepared for _anything_ that could crop up.

Kazuma crouched low once more, with his right leg stretched back as far as possible. Using his arms like a balance, he shot off of his left foot, launching a savage knee into Ryuho's throat.

Except for that.

Again, Kazuma lashed out with his leg, in a low sweep, spinning him around in a circle. He was already setting upon Ryuho when the Alter in blue armor landed on his feet, after his back-flip.

One of the fins on Kazuma's back disintegrated, as the others began to release energy, and the propeller blade whipped to life. The massive jet-stream of golden energy launched Kazuma towards Ryuho, and the young man lashed out with his left arm, planting a devastating blow to the stomach. Said attack was followed up by an attack from the right arm, as another fin disintegrated. With each strike, the dual pistons within Kazuma's arms lifted up further, building up the pressure within the chamber.

The Shell Bullet struck twice more, like a furious bout of acid rain, destroying two more fins, as the pistons raised up even farther. Twisting his hips, and locking them back into place, Kazuma unleashed a brutal uppercut, as the energy from the last fin on his left shoulder transferred directly into the pistons in his left arm, pushing them all the way to the top, before bringing them crashing down. The resulting explosion blasted Ryuho into the air, once again.

The final pistons on Kazuma's right arm extended out fully, as the very last fin on his body broke apart, releasing a massive torrent of light. Using his left arm to strike the ground, Kazuma began his ascent into the air. As the blade on his back began whipping around faster and faster, the stream of pure, uncontaminated energy grew in size and intensity. Like greased lightning, the young, brash, native Alter blasted forward, with his right arm as his vanguard, to answer any threat.

Everything seemed to be in slow motion, for Ryuho. As he watched Kazuma closing in on him, he knew he could do nothing. 'Damn it, damn it, _damn it!_ … I am the weak one… His will is unshakeable…'

As Kazuma's fist collided with Ryuho, and the pistons slammed down, the blue armor encasing Ryuho instantly exploded, leaving him defenseless. The power of the strike brought both men to the ground, with Ryuho being driven in, due to the massive, pawed fist that struck him. The downed commander coughed, sending out a small stream of blood down his chin, as Kazuma removed his fist.

Kazuma climbed out of the crater in the floor, and crawled to Mimori's feet. "I'm… sorry… I know how much you hate fightin'…"

As the doctor hugged him tightly to her body, she felt the golden armor disintegrating, and watched his hair droop back down to its usual position. His whole body drooped within her grasp, as his eyes closed, losing himself to unconsciousness.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Delicate and gentle music wafted through the warm room. The quiet hum of the air conditioning, and soft glow of the light bulbs set an almost hypnotic atmosphere.

Humming to herself, Mimori sat in front of a tall, polished mirror, fixing her hair. She held the back of her raven black locks with an elastic band, bringing them into a pony tail at the end. Two more bands held longer locks of hair together, and at the sides of her head, so that they would not interfere with her vision.

She heard the door open, and turned suddenly, just to make sure who it was. "Kazuma?" she said, before thinking. In her subconscious, she knew it had to be him… He had a certain presence, and also, it made logical sense. After all, he _was _the only other person in the apartment.

"Yeah… Ugh, man, do I feel drained. It's like I've been gnawed on by a bunch of Venus flytraps." Kazuma massaged his temples and let out a yawn. "My whole body's sore… just what the hell happened?"

"Kazuma… I'm so glad you're finally awake. It's been two whole days." Mimori simply stood in front of Kazuma, though she held her arms out, she let them drop back to her sides, biting her lip in indecisiveness.

"Heh, what? No hug or nothing?" Winking at the doctor, he grinned, "Pretty shabby greeting."

The woman folded her arms and sat down on the arm of a luxurious chair, and shrugged, "It's the best I can do, with the state that you're in… If I even touched you, I'm sure that your body would probably ache even more. Imagine that pain, multiplied by a factor of two." Smiling lightly, she handed him a glass of water. "Besides… You'd probably scream like a little girl."

Accepting the glass, and its contents, Kazuma greedily drank down the fluid, as he hadn't drunk anything in over two days. "What? Are you goin' nuts?" Though obviously weary, the young man was obviously enjoying this playful banter. Kazuma tried his best to appear angry, but he just couldn't stop the smile from coming to the surface. "I don't scream, and I definitely don't scream like a little girl…" The powerful Alter smirked as he stared into Mimori's deep, brown eyes.

"Unless somebody makes me get up off my lazy ass."

Tears were forming in her eyes as she smiled, letting herself chuckle a bit. "I'm just glad to have you back safely…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Yeah… It was decent, I guess. Hoped you all enjoyed it. Also, if you want to **see** exactly what **Kazuma's re-imagined third form** of his Alter **looks like**, I have a **link** to the **picture**. I did it myself, using the tools available to me… which is Microsoft Paint. Just go to my profile on this website, and there should be a link close to the bottom.

**Random Bonus**: What song did I take the line "I won't let you fall apart" from, and what band wrote this song.

**Double Bonus**: What band made and performed the song "Acid Rain."

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: The line was from _The Warriors_. Ajax says it to Mercy, once they hop onto a subway train. Dave-in-Exile, you ROCK!!!! Can you imagine Mujo saying that? "Kazuma… Come out to pla-ae-ay!"


	9. Lost Territory

**Foreword**: Thanks, everyone. I'm glad you reviewed, and enjoyed. Hope you like this one too, even though I feel like I did a really crappy job on it...

**Disclaimer**: Nope… I don't own s-CRY-ed, as of right now.

* * *

**Lost Territory**

"Come on, what are we doing in here?" The native Alter wearily trudged into the lab, with sleep still on top of his priority list. Bleary eyed, he simply followed the shape of his doctor, and recently, his girlfriend.

She opened a cabinet and pulled out a shoebox sized metal container. Placing it on the dissection table, she placed a single hand on it, and said, "No, I woke you up so that we could come and see this… Besides, you should really wake up earlier. It was almost ten o'clock!"

His eye twitching, Kazuma spoke in dangerously soft and slow voice, "Mimori… you dragged me outta bed to come see _a box_?"

"Not quite…" She flipped a few switches, and watched as the top of the box fell away, allowing them to see the black shard that had been removed from his body. "This is what we had to surgically remove from your chest."

"Damn… That's a pretty big piece of… whatever it is." After a few moments of silence, he clapped his hands and began rubbing them together. "Anyway, that's nice. Can I go back to bed now?" With that said, he turned on his heel and started heading towards the door.

"No, wait! Come back here, Kazuma!" Mimori took hold of his arm and gently pulled him back over to the table where the box was resting, and softly squeezed his arm. "Kazuma, I have a theory about what this is… I just want to prove it. Back when you still had your memory, you told me about how your Alter evolved, and…" She trailed off, and snaked her fingers around the black shard in the box. Lifting it up, she handed it to Kazuma, saying, "Well, does this look familiar to you in any way?"

Kazuma took hold of the chunk of matter and carefully examined it, feeling the texture in his hand. "Sorta… I dunno… Whoa… Just got one of them déjà vu feelings… you know? Seems like I've held this thing before, but I just can't place it though." He tossed it up into the air and caught it again.

As it rested lightly in Kazuma's hand, the shard began to dissolve emitting a neon green mist of energy from it. The mist, swirling and turbulent, surrounded and covered the young man swiftly, catching him off guard.

Once the haze had cleared away, Kazuma ran his fingers through his hair, and exhaled loudly. "Stupid ass mist… Now I feel like I'm gonna puke… Jeez, I feel like I've been eating that slop Kimishima called food…"

Tears in her eyes, Mimori embraced Kazuma in a passionate hug. "It worked," she whispered. "It really worked…"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Footsteps echoed in the pristine, white halls, as they moved at a relatively leisurely pace. Resting a hand on the door knob, the strong hand quickly turned its wrist, granting him access to the room.

Letting out a small chuckle, Kazuma grinned deviously at the man in the bed, sneering, "Little under the weather?"

The green haired man, clad in multiple casts simply glared at the fiery brawler, grunting in anger.

It was generally tough for Kazuma to find this intimidating, however, because of the fact that Ryuho's leg and arm were both suspended by straps, and he was hooked up to multiple contraptions. He glanced over the whole room, eyes centering in on all of the different buttons and knobs he could push and play with.

As he made his way to the side of his enemy's bed, he accidentally jarred a box on the wall, making the bar drop all the way to the bottom. "Or are you just ashamed I kicked your face in? Eh, don't be… After all… I've done it before. Just like the last time we met, right after I kicked Mujo's ass. You should know that you're just not a match for a strong guy like me."

Kazuma sat down on the bed, looking curiously at the leg resting in a sling, elevated over the rest of Ryuho's body. "The hell's this thing for?" With a feral grin, he began tugging on a strap, watching his leg go up and down. "Heh, I feel like a puppeteer."

Though he could hear pained moans, Kazuma ignored them, saying, "Oh, quit your whinin'. I know you're a baby, but _damn_…" He shook his head and the golden irises of his eyes rolled, as Ryuho's growling increased in volume.

His head rose up in recognition, as Kazuma remembered something that he meant to say. "Oh yeah, and in case you haven't noticed, I got my memory back, just toda-"

"Kazu-kun? Are you in here?" The door opened once again, and a small girl trudged in wearily, dressed in clothes that made her look somewhat like a cowgirl, bandana included. "I've been looking all over for you, Kazu-kun! Why are you bothering Mr. Ryuho? He needs his rest! Come on, Kazu-kun, why don't you leave him alone?"

Before Kazuma could say any more, she ushered him out of the room briskly. "Um… I'm very sorry about that, Mr. Ryuho…" The little girl observed the Commander's facial expressions, when he watched Kazuma leave the room. 'I… I know that he must be angry with Kazuma… especially over Mimori…'

'You have no idea…' The voice sounded inside of her head. It was terse, and cold, easily discernable as Ryuho's.

Kanami, startled so much that she almost fell to the ground, remained silent, albeit astounded. She quickly and cautiously thought back, so as not to make a fool of herself if she imagined the voice. 'Y-You can h-hear me? You've got to let go… Mimori… She's happy with Kazuma. They're really in-'

'Do not say it!' The voice screamed back with ferocious intensity. "It could _never_ be…" He trailed off for a moment, before slowly speaking again, "_I _was the one… _I _am her friend… _I _was meant to be more…' With each sentence, his voice became louder and more indignant, ire apparently rising.

Lapsing into silence, Kanami thought privately for a moment, refraining from transmitting her thoughts to the man incarcerated by casts. Quietly and sheepishly, the little girl, filled with wisdom far beyond her years, spoke aloud, "Mr. Ryuho… you say you're her friend… if you really are, you'll respect her decision…"

The little girl stepped out of the room, leaving Ryuho to his own devices, and letting him think deeply.

As soon as the door closed, the air conditioning kicked on, sending gusts of freezing cold air down on the immobile Commander of HOLY. 'Damn it… _Kazuma_…'

It was going to be a _long_ night…

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kazuma deeply hugged Kanami, who, in all but blood, was his little sister. "Hey there, Kanami… Sorry I freaked you out by havin' to leave so fast… When did you get in? You doin' alright?"

"I just got here about fifteen minutes ago. Mr. Tachibana dropped me off, and I'm doing fine, Kazu-kun… Mr. Tachibana took good care of me… You're… You're all better now, right?" Kanami let go and smiled over at Mimori, waving to her slightly.

"Better? I'm twice as strong as I used to be. I'm a walking scar, but hey, I don't have to deal with those crappy side effects, like I used to." The Native Alter pulled his sleeve up, revealing the long scars adorning his right arm, as though he was proud of them. "Little missy just played doctor and patched me right up." Kazuma jabbed his thumb towards Mimori, with a grin.

"Little missy?" Mimori said, with an eyebrow raised to the sky. "You sure have a way with words, you know that, Kazuma?" As she stood there, her facial expression changed to one of surprise, as she felt Kanami hug her.

"I missed you too, Mimori…" The little girl held onto her tightly, and whispered, "Um… Can we talk more later?"

"Sure," the doctor whispered back. With a smile, Mimori patted the girl on the head.

Kazuma felt something in the pit of his stomach, as he looked at the two of them. 'Oh, damn… They've gotta be planning something… Crap…'

Yeah… It was definitely a bad feeling.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kazuma looked forlornly at the bundle in Mimori's hands. "You're joking… right? _Please _tell me you're kidding."

Smiling, Mimori gently hooked his arm with hers and calmly said, "Kanami sort of convinced me… I mean… it would be nice, right? I think it would be splendid to spend an evening exclusively with you. We could get out of this stuffy building and go out for some fresh air." She gripped his hand steadily, as she felt contentment wash over her.

"I like the idea fine… but I can enjoy fresh air in these." The rough-and-tumble Alter User waved to his ragged clothes. "I mean… come on, they're clean and all."

The doctor gripped his hand and gently applied pressure, softly saying, "Come on, Kazuma… Do it for me, won't you? I think it would be good to dress nicely, at least."

"Ugh… Why do I always let myself get roped into these things?"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Sitting in silence, and shivering in the extreme cold of his room, Ryuho thought about what Kanami had told him earlier.

'Mimori… She seems happy… and she's practically beaming all the time that she is with Kazuma.'

'Perhaps it is best for her if I simply let her go… I am not the one that she is in l… in love with… Kazuma… treat her well.'

* * *

**Author's Notes**: And there you have it… The story, sadly, is slowly coming to a close… I'm thinking that the next chapter will be the last one. Very short chapter, and for that, I'm sorry. I also felt like this was crappy... Ah, well... The end is near.

**Random Bonus**: The song "Blue Monday" was originally created by , and a modern band, covered it. By the way… the cover is better than the original, in my opinion.

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: Aye, the first one was from "The Fragile" by _Nine Inch Nails_, and the last one was by Liquid Tension Experiment.


	10. Sincerely

**Foreword**: Ahh… The Epilogue… This is the sort of thing that sucks about a good story (I _hope _it was good)… Anyway, it's gotta happen sooner or later, you know? Just to be clear, they are outside of the city, and they built a house, so yeah... It's a MASSIVE leap from the last chapter, but whatever... It's the epilogue.

**Disclaimer**: Like always, I don't own s-CRY-ed.

**A Very Special Thanks To**: You. Whoever is reading this, I thank you. Extra shout outs go to Draknal, for helping me out with ideas, and lettin' me bounce them off of him.

* * *

**Sincerely…**

Kazuma opened his eyes and gripped the yellow pencil within his strong hand. Slowly, and gently at first, the point rested on the pad, as he began to write more and more.

'To Kimishima… Hope you're doin' fine up there. I know you're dead, and all, but I guess… Well, I guess I'm writing this to get it down on paper, and half to sorta tell you, if you can see or read this thing… It's still tough without you here, you know? Never said it, but I see you as a brother, and a buddy…'

'I ain't gonna bitch and complain and whine about you dyin'. It happens, and I know you'd probably just say I was bein' stupid.'

'Anyway… Guess I wanted to laugh at you. Few years back, you said I could laugh in your face if I ever kept a steady girlfriend, so here I am. You remember that hot doctor, Mimori, right? Well… You guessed it. We hooked up. Been that way for almost a year, and it ain't changing. I think you'd like her… 'cept I'd have to kick your ass if you even thought of makin' a pass at her.'

'I uh… I always figured you'd go up… you always were the better of the two of us. You didn't have an Alter or nothin', but you definitely had a lot of courage… I'll miss–'

'No, God damn it. I already said I wasn't gonna talk about that. You're gonna have to smack me one, next time you see me for that.'

Pausing, Kazuma wiped away a droplet of moisture from his eyes, before putting the pencil back down to the piece of paper.

'Save me a spot up there, buddy… I hope I'll see you again some day…'

'Sincerely…'

He quickly crumpled the paper into a ball, and tossed it into the trash can. "Nah, screw it. I always was crappy at writin' a good ending."

Kazuma shook his head, in an attempt to clear his mind. His golden irises were clear, as he used every trick possible to keep happy, and stop remembering Kimishima's sacrifice. He leaned back in the wooden chair, running his fingers through his hair.

After a few moments of silence, he nodded, resolving to keep himself happy, he thought of the one person who would always be able to do just that: Mimori Kiryuu.

Grinning like a fiend, he bolted out of the chair and prowled down the hallway. Stalking his prey, and also girlfriend, he stealthily crept up behind her. Raising his hands, his predatory smile widened.

"You know you're about as sneaky as a pregnant elephant in the middle of labor, right?" Mimori sighed and looked over her shoulder, seeing Kazuma. She re-adjusted her glasses, and smiled gently at him. "But I wouldn't change a thing about you." The raven haired beauty winked at him, and tossed some of said hair over her shoulder.

"I'll tell you somethin' I'd change." He swiftly and adroitly purloined her glasses, spinning them around on his fingers, before slapping them onto his own face. "Heheh, now I can see perfectly."

Mimori shook her head at his idiocy, and mumbled, all the while chuckling, "Moron… You know that you're going to mess up your eyes like that, right?" Expectantly, the doctor held her hand out, ready to accept them back.

"Man, these things are heavy… Don't you think you should get some new ones or somethin' like that?" Kazuma began to walk off, fidgeting with the corrective device.

"K-Kazuma! Come back here! Be careful with those!" Mimori began following him, as both picked up their pace.

Running away from his girlfriend, Kazuma laughed maniacally, all the while looking back at her. "Heheh, what're you talkin' about? These are _my _glasses."

"Kazuma! Get back here! Stop! _Kazuma!_" Something in her voice changed… It wasn't fun for her any more. She wasn't angry or anything, but something sounded odd in her voice, but Kazuma just couldn't place it.

Shrugging, he picked up his pace even more, running through the halls, and dodging around corners. Though his vision was completely blurry, he knew the general layout of the house well enough, so he had nothing to worry about. He turned his head to Mimori and grinned toothily, chuckling at the same time, "What's the matter? Heh, can't catch-" His voice was instantly cut off, and replaced by a crash, and loud screaming, issued forth from him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Kanami cringed as she heard glass shatter, and a loud thud. She shook her head disappointedly, and made a clicking noise, with her mouth. "You never learn, do you, Kazu-kun?"

The little girl, clad in orange, rolled her eyes as she saw Kazuma's arms flailing around on the ground, and sighed, "We just got that window replaced too…"

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Well, there's the end of it... I won't be posting any more chapters for this story. I wanted to thank each and every one of you for reading this story. I'm glad you had the patience to see it through all the way to the end. 

**Random Bonus**: Was this story any good? This is literally impossible to miss, hahaha. It's an opinion, so it can't be wrong.

**Last Chapter's Bonus**: New Order originally made "Blue Monday", but Orgy covered it, and did a damn fine job.


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